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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  B72-4S03 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notat  tachnlijuea  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha  instituta  haa  attampted  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imaga*  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  tign;flcantly  changa 
tha  uaual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


□   Colourao  covara/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I — I   Covart  damagad/ 


D 


Couvartura  andommagta 

Covars  raatorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurte  at/ou  poiiiculAa 


I — I   Covar  titia  missing/ 


titra  da  couvartura  manqua 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartas  gAographiquas  an  coulaur 

Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  biacit)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
RaiiA  avac  d'autras  documents 


D 
D 
D 
D 


rri   Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 


D 


along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serr6a  peut  causer  de  i'ombre  ou  de  la 

distortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
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mais,  lorsqus  cela  Atait  possible,  cos  pages  n'ont 
pas  AtA  filmAes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  «t«  poasibia  de  se  procurer.  Les  ditaiia 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  on  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithoda  normale  de  fiimage 
aont  indiquAa  ci-dessous. 

r — j   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damsged/ 
Pages  endommagias 


□   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  rastaur«as  et/ou  peilicu!«es 

□   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d«color«as,  tachet«es  ou  piqu«es 

□   Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

□   Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

□   Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quaiit*  in«gale  de  i'impression 


D 
D 
D 


Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  matAriai  supplAmentaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  dispcnible 

Pages  wholly  or  partiaily  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
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obscurcies  par  un  fauillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  «t6  filmAes  h  nouveau  de  fa9on  A 
obtenir  la  meilieure  image  possible. 


n 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppitmentairas: 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  da  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

^^i^ii,^ 

J 

■■■■■i 

1 

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12X 

16X 

»x 

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28X 

32X 

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The  r.opy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6n6ro8it6  de: 

Bibiiothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ♦►  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmea  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmea 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet6  de  l'exemplaire  fiimi,  et  en 
conformitd  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  ia  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  filmds  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tou3  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qu^  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni^re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  11  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  &  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  pre.iant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  d'agrammes  suivants 
illustrent  ia  mdthode. 


1  2  3 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

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5 

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^r?  ; 


ETHNOGRAPHIC   STUDIES 


Printed  by  R.  &.  R.  Clark 
FOR 

DAVID  DOUGLAS,  EDINBURGH 


7 


THE    LOST    ATLANTIS 


AND  OTHER 


ETHNOGEAPHIC    STUDIES 


nv 


Sir  DANIEL   WILSOI^,  LLD.,  F.RS.E 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

AITHOR  OP   'THE   PREFI8T0RIC  AXNALS   OF  SCOTLAND' 

'PREHISTORIC    man:     THE    OBIOIN    OF    CIVILISATION,'    ETC.    ETC. 


NEW  YOEK 

MACMILLAN   AND   CO. 

1892 


All  rights  reserved 


PREFACE 


"  The  Preface  is  the  most  troublesome  part  of  a  book,"  I  have 
often  heard  my  dear  Father  say ;  and  now  it  falls  to  my 
unaccustomed  pen  to  write  a  preface  for  him. 

I  cannot  undertake  to  define  the  aim  of  this  book;  I  can 
only  tell  how  the  last  work  on  ic  was  done.  In  my  Father's 
note-book  I  find  it  described  as  "  A  few  carefully  studied  mono- 
graphs, linked  together  by  a  slender  thread  of  ethnographic 
relationship." 

Eeturning  in  June  last  from  a  brief  visit  to  Montreal,  with 
the  first  signs  of  illness  beginning  to  show,  he  foimd  a  bundle  of 
proofs  waiting  for  him,  and  with  the  characteristic  promptness 
which  never  let  any  duty  wait,  he  set  t'.*  \"ork  at  once  to 
correct  them.  "  It  is  my  last  book,"  he  said,  conscious  that 
his  busy  brain  had  nearly  fulfilled  all  its  tasks ;  and  so 
through  days  of  rapidly  increasing  weakness  and  pain  he  lay 
on  the  sofa  correcting  proofs  till  the  pen  dropped  from  the 
hand  no  longer  able  to  hold  it.  His  mind  turned  ;o  the 
book  in  his  wandering  thoughts  from  illness,  and  on  one  of 
these  occasions  he  murmured  :  "  Sybil  will  write  the  Preface  "  ; 
and  so  I  try  to  fulfil  his  wish.  "  Ask  Mr.  Douglas  to  correct 
the  proofs  himself,  and  to  be  sure  to  make  an  index,"  was  one 
of  his  last  requests,  thus  providing  for  the  finishing  of  the 
work  which  he  could  not  himself  finish.  He  has  passed 
now  from  this  world  whose  prehistoric  story  he  so  lovingly 


VI 


PREFACE 


tried  to  deciplier,  and  wliere  he  was  ever  finding  traces  of  tlie 
hand  of  God,  into  that  other  worhl,  "  where  toil  shall  cease 
and  rest  begin  " ;  but  where  I  doubt  not  he  still  goog  on 
learning  more  and  more,  no  longer  seeing  through  a  glass  darkly 
but  in  perfect  light. 

The  silent  lips  seem  to  speak  once  more  in  this  volume 
—his  last  words  to  the  public;  and  I  commit  it  very 
tenderly  to  those  who  are  interested  in  his  favourite  study 
of  Ethnology.  .    • 

Sybil  Wilson. 

Bencosie,  Toronto, 
August  1892. 


CONTENTS 


»      •      « 


1.  The  Lost  Atlantis      .    .    . 

2.  The  Vinland  of  the  Northmen 

3.  Trade  and  Commerce  in  the  Stone  Age 

4.  Pre-Aryan  American  Man  . 

'  •  •  • 

6.  The  Esthetic  Faculty  in  Aboriginal  Races 

6.  The  Huron-Iroquois  ;  a  Typical  Race 

7.  Hybridity  and  Heredity 

'  •  ♦  #  • 

8.  Relative  Racial  Brain-Weight  and  Size  . 


I'AOB 
1 

37 

81 
.  180 
.     180 

.     246 

.     307 
.     339 


INDEX 


403 


I 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


\  I  EAELY  IDEAS  ': 

The   legend   of  Atlantis,  an   island -continent    lying   in   the 
Atlantic  Ocean   over  against  the  Pillars  of  Her-.ule*'s,  which 
after  benig  long  the  seat  of  a  powerful  empire,  was  engulfed 
xn  the  sea,  has  been  made   the  basis   of  many  extraw^ant 
speculations  ;    and   anew   awakens   keenest   interest  with  "the 
revolvmg  centuries.      The  12th  of  October  1892  has  been 
proclaimed  a  World's  holiday,  to  celebrate  its    accomplished 
cycle  of  four  centuries  since  Columbus  set  foot  on  the  shores 
of  the  West.     The  voyage  has  been  characterised  as  the  most 
memorable  m  the  annals  of  our  race;  and  the  century  thus 
completed  is  richer  than  all  before  it  in  the  transfon.'   tions 
that  the  birth  of  time  has  disclosed  since  the  wedding  o    iie 
New  World  to  the  Old.     The  story  of  the  Lost  Atlanti,    is 
recorded  m  the  Timmcs  and,  with  many  fanciful  amplifications, 
111  the  Critias  of  Plato.      According  to  the  dialogues,  as  re- 
produced there,  Critias  repeats  to  Socrates  a  story  told  him  by 
his  grandfather,  then  an  old  man  of  ninety,  when  he  himself 
was  not  more  than  ten  years  of  age.     According  to  this  nar- 
rative,  Solon  visited   the   city  of  Sais,  at   tlie   head   of  the 
Jigyptian  delta,  and  there   learned   from   the  priests   of  the 
ancient  empire  of  Atlantis,  and  of  ite  overthrow  by  a  con- 
vulsion of  nature,     "l^o  one,"  says  Professor  Jowett,  in  his 
critical  edition  of  T/ie  Dialogues  of  Plato,  "knew  better  than 

B 


a 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


!! 


Plato  how  to  invent  '  a  noble  lie ' " ;  and  he,  unhesitatingly, 
pronounces  the  whole  narrative  a  fabrication.  "  The  world,  like 
a  child,  has  readily,  and  for  the  most  part,  unhesitatingly 
accepted  the  tale  of  the  Island  of  Atlantis."  To  the  critical 
editor,  this  reception  furnishes  only  an  illustration  of  popular 
credulity,  showing  how  the  chance  word  of  a  poet  or  philo- 
sopher may  give  rise  to  endless  historical  or  religious  specula- 
tion. In  the  Critias,  the  legendary  tale  is  unquestionably 
expanded  into  details  of  no  possible  historical  significance  or 
genuine  antiquity.  But  it  is  not  without  reason,  that  men 
like  Humboldt  have  recognised  in  the  original  legend  the 
possible  vestige  of  a  widely-spread  tradition  of  earliest  times. 
In  this  respect,  at  any  rate,  I  purpose  here  to  review  it. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  even  in  the  time  of  Socrates,  and 
indeed  of  the  elder  Critias,  this  Atlantis  was  referred  to  as 
the  vague  and  inconsistent  tradition  of  a  remote  past;  though 
not  move  inconsistent  than  much  else  which  the  cultured 
Greeks  were  accustomed  to  receive.  Mr.  Hyde  Clarke,  in  an 
"  Examination  of  the  Legend,"  printed  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  Royal  Hi'itorical  Society,  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that 
Atlantis  was  the  name  of  the  king  rather  than  of  the  dominion. 
But  king  and  kingdom  have  ever  been  liable  to  be  referred  to 
under  a  common  designation.  According  to  the  account  in 
the  Timcvus,  Atlantis  was  a  continent  lying  over  against  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  greater  in  extent  than  Libya  and  Asia 
combined ;  the  highway  to  other  islands  and  to  a  great  ocean, 
of  which  the  Mediterranean  Sea  was  a  mere  harbour.  But  in 
the  vpgueness  of  all  geographical  knowledge  in  the  days  of 
Socr.'^tes  and  of  Plato,  this  Atlantic  domain  is  confused  with 
some  Iberian  or  western  African  power,  which  is  s*^^ated  to 
have  been  arrayed  against  Egypt,  Hellas,  and  all  the  countries 
bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  knowledge  even  of 
the  western  Mediterranean  was  then  very  imperfect ;  and,  to 
the  ancient  Greek,  the  West  was  a  region  of  vague  mystery 
which  sufficed  for  the  localisation  of  aU  his  fondest  imaginings. 
There,  on  the  far  horizon,  Homer  pictured  the  Elysian  plain, 
where,  under  a  serene  sky,  the  favourites  of  Zeus  enjoyed 
eternal  Telicity ;  Hesiod  assigned  the  abode  of  departed  heroes 
to  the  Happy  Isles  beyond  the  western  waters  that  engirdled 
Europe  j  and  Seneca  foretold  that  that  mysterious  ocean  would 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS  3 

yet  disclose  an  unknown  world  which  it  then  kept  concealed. 
To  the  ancients,  Elysium  ever  lay  beyond  the  setting  sun ;  and 
the  Hesperia  of  the  Greeks,  as  their  geographical  knowledge 
increased,  continued  to  recede  before  them  into  the  unexplored 
west. 

In  the  youth  of  all  nations,  the  poet  and  historian  are  one ; 
and,  according  to  the  tale  of  the  elder  Critias,  the  legend  of 
Atlantis  was  derived  from  a  poetic  chronicle  of  Solon,  whom 
he  pronounced  to  have  been  one  of  the  best  of  poets,  as  well 
as  the  wisest  of  men.    The  elements  of  oral  tradition  are  aptly 
set  forth  in  the  dialogue  which  Plato  puts  into  the  mouth  of 
Tiraoeus    of    Locris,    a   Pythagorean    philosopher.       Solon    is 
affirmed  to  have  told  the  tale  to  his  personal  friend,  Dropidas, 
the  great-grandfather  of  Critias,  who  repeated  it  to  his  son; 
and  he,  eighty  years  thereafter,  in  extreme  old  age,  told  it  to 
his  grandson,  a  boy  of  ten,  whose   narrative,  reproduced   in 
mature  years,  we  are  supposed  to  read  in  the  dialogue  of  the 
Twuvus.     Even  those  are  but  the  later  links  in  the  tradi- 
tionary catena.      Solon  himself  visited  Sais,   a   city  of  the 
Egyptian  delta,  imder  the  protection  of  tne  goddess,  Neith  or 
Athene.     There,  when  in  converse  with  the  Egyptian  priests, 
he  learned,  for  the  first  time,  rightly  to  appreciate  how  ignorant 
of  antiquity  he  and  his  countrymen  were.     "  0  Solon,  Solon," 
said  an  aged  priest  to  him,  "  you  Hellenes  are  ever  young,  and 
there  is  no  old  man  who  is  a  Hellene ;  there  is  no  opinion  or 
tradition  of  knowledge  among  you  which  is  white  with  age." 
Solon   had  told  them  th?  mythical  tales  of  Phoroneus   and 
Niobe,  and  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  and  had  attempted  to 
reckon  the  interval   by  generations   since  the   great  deluge. 
But  the  priest  of  Sais  replied  to  this  that  such  Hellenic  annals 
were  children's  stories.     Their  memory  went  back  but  a  little 
way,  and  recalled  only  the  latest  of  the  great  convulsions  of 
nature,  by  which  revolutions  in  past  ages  had  been  wrought : 
"The  memory  of  them  is  lost,  because  there  was  no  written 
voice  among  you."     And  so  the  venerable  priest  und<  took  to 
tell  him  of  the   social  life   and  condition  of  the  primitive 
Athenians  9000  years  before.     It  is  among  the  events  of  this 
older  era   that  the  overthrow  of  Atlantis  is  told :   a  story 
already  "white  with   age"  in  the  time  of  Socrates,   3400 
years  ago.     The  warriors  of  Athens,  in  that  elder  time,  were 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


I!!  i 


ilill 


a  distinct  caste ;  and  when  the  vast  power  of  Atlantis  was 
marshalled  against  the  Mediterranean  nations,  Athens  bravely 
repelled  the  invader,  and  gave  liberty  to  the  nations  whose 
safety  had  been  imperilled ;  but  in  the  convulsion  that  fol- 
lowed, in  which  the  island  -  continent  was  engulfed  in  the 
ocean,  the  warrior  race  of  Athens  also  perished. 

The  story,  as  it  thus  reaches  us,  is  one  of  the  vaguest  of 
popular  legends,  and  has  been  transmitted  to  modern  times  in 
the  most  obscure  of  all  the  writings  of  Plato.     Nevertheless, 
there  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  idea  that  it  rest.'?  on  some 
historic  basis,  in  which  the  tradition  of  the  fall  of  an  Iberian, 
or  other  aggressive  power  in  the  western  Mediterranean,  is 
mingled  with  other  and  equally  vague  traditions  of  intercourse 
with  a  vast  continent  lying  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules. 
Mr.  Hyde  Clarke,  in  his  Khita  and  Khita- Peruvian  Epoch, 
draws  attention  to  the  ancient  system  of  geography,  alluded 
to  by  various  early  writers,  and  notably  mentioned  by  Crates 
of  Pergamos,  B.C.   160,  which   treated   of  the   Four  Worlds, 
This  he  connects  with  the  statement  by  Mr.  George  Smith, 
derived   from    the    cuneiform    interpretations,    that   Agu,    an 
ancient  king  of  Babylonia,  called  himself  "  King  of  the  Four 
Races."     He  also  assigns  to  it  a  relation  with  others,  including 
its  Inca  equivalent  of  Tavintinsuzu,  the  Empire  of  the  Four 
Quarters  of  the  World.     But  the  extravagance  of  regal  titles 
has  been  the   same   in  widely  diverse  ages ;    so  that  much 
caution  is  necessary  before  they  can  be  made  a  safe  basis  for 
comprehensive  generalisations.     Four  kings  made  war  against 
five  in  the  vale  of  Siddim ;  and  when  Lot  was  despoiled  and 
taken  captive  by  Chederlaomer,  King  of  Elam,  Tidal,  King  of 
Nations,  and  other  regal  allies,  Abraham,  with  no  further  aid 
than  that  of  his  trained  servants,  born  in  his  house,  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  in  all,  smote  their  combined  hosts,  and 
recovered  the  captives  and  the  spoil.     Here,  at  least,  it  is 
obvious  that  "  the  King  of  Nations  "  was  somewhat  on  a  par 
with  one  of  the  six  vassal  kings  who  rowed  King  Edgar  on 
the  River  Dee.     Certainly,  within  any  aarly  period  of  authentic 
history,  the   conceptions  of  the   known  world  were  reduced 
within  narrow  bounds ;  and  it  would  be  a  very  comprehensive 
deduction  from  such  slight  premises  as  the  legend  supplies,  to 
refer  it  to  an  age  of  accurate  geographical  knowledge  in  which 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


,ntis  was 
3  bravely 
18  whose 
that  fol- 
I  in  the 

aguest  of 

times  in 

ertheless, 

on  some 

I  Iberian, 

anean,  is 

itercourse 

Hercules. 

■n  Epoch, 

',  alluded 

jy  Crates 

Worlds. 

[e  Smith, 

Agu,    an 

the  Four 

including 

the  Four 

^al  titles 

at  much 

lasis  for 

against 

iled  and 

King  of 

ther  aid 

three 

osts,  and 

st,  it  is 

in  a  par 

dgar  on 

uthentic 

reduced 

ehensive 

>plies,  to 

n  which 


3e 


the  western  hemisphere  was  known  as  one  of  four  worlds, 
or  continents.  When  the  Scottish  poet,  Dunbar,  wrote  of 
America,  twenty  years  after  the  voyage  of  Columbus,  he  only 
knew  of  it  as  "  th?  new-found  isle." 

The  opinion,  universally  favoured  in  the  infancy  of  physical 
science,  of  the  recurrence  of  convulsions  of  nature,  whereby 
nations  were  revolutionised,  and  vast  empires  destroyed  by  fire, 
or  engulfed  in  the  ocean,  revived  with  the  theories  of  cata- 
clysmic phenomena  in  the  earlier  speculations  of  modern 
geology  ;  and  has  even  now  its  advocates  among  writers  who 
have  given  little  heed  to  the  concurrent  opinion  of  later  scientific 
authorities.  Among  the  most  zealous  advocates  of  the  idea  of 
a  submerged  Atlantic  continent,  the  seat  of  a  civilisation  older 
than  that  of  Europe,  or  of  the  old  East,  was  the  late  Abb4 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  As  an  indefatigable  and  enthusiastic 
investigator,  he  occupies  a  place  in  the  history  of  American 
archaeology  somewhat  akin  to  that  of  his  fellow-countryman, 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  in  relation  to  the  palseontological  dis- 
closures of  Europe.  He  had  the  undoubted  merit  of  first 
drawing  the  attention  of  the  learned  world  to  the  native  tran- 
scripts of  Maya  records,  the  full  valu3  of  which  is  only  now 
being  adequately  recognised.  His  Histoire  des  Nations  Civilis^es 
aims  at  demonstrating  from  their  religious  myths  and  historical 
traditions  the  existence  of  a  self-originated  civilisation.  In 
his  subsequent  Quatre  Letters  su7'  le  Mexique,  the  Abb(5  adopted, 
in  the  most  literal  form,  the  venerable  legend  of  Atlantis, 
giving  free  rein  to  his  imagination  in  some  very  fanciful 
speculations.  He  calls  into  being,  "from  the  vasty  deep,"  a 
submerged  continent,  or,  rather,  extension  of  the  present 
America,  stretching  eastward,  and  including,  as  he  deems 
probable,  the  Canary  Islands,  and  other  insular  survivals  of 
the  imaginary  Atlantis.  Such  speculations  of  unregulated  zeal 
are  unworthy  of  serious  consideration.  But  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  vague  legend,  so  temptingly  set  forth  in 
the  TinicBus,  shovld  have  kindled  the  imaginations  of  a  class 
of  theorists,  who,  like  the  enthusiastic  Abbu,  are  restrained  by 
no  doubts  suggested  by  scientific  indications.  So  far  from 
geology  lending  the  slightest  confirmation  to  the  idea  of  an 
engulfed  Atlantis,  Professor  Wyville  Thomson  has  shown,  in 
his  Depths  of  the  Sea,  that  while  oscillations  of  the  land  have 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


considerably  modified  the  boundaries  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
the  geological  age  of  its  basin  dates  as  far  back,  at  least,  as  the 
later  Secondary  period.  The  study  of  its  animal  life,  as  re- 
vealed in  dredging,  strongly  confirms  this,  disclosing  an  un- 
broken continuity  of  life  on  the  Atlantic  sea-bed  from  the 
Cretaceous  period  to  the  present  time;  and,  as  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  has  pointed  out,  in  his  Principles  of  Geology,  the  entire 
evidence  is  adverse  to  the  idea  that  the  Canaries,  the  Madeiras, 
and  the  Azores,  are  surviving  fragments  of  a  vast  submerged 
island,  or  continuous  area  of  the  adjacent  continent.  There 
are,  indeed,  undoubted  indications  of  volcanic  action;  but 
they  furnish  evidence  of  local  upheaval,  not  of  the  submer- 
gence of  extensive  continental  areas. 

But  it  is  an  easy,  as  well  a3  a  pleasant  pastime,  to  evolve 
either  a  camel  or  a  continent  out  of  the  depths  of  one's  own 
inner  consciousness.  To  such  fanciful  speculators,  the  lost 
Atlantis  will  ever  offer  a  tempting  basis  on  which  to  found 
their  unsubstantial  creations.  Mr.  H.  H.  Bancroft,  when 
alluding  to  the  subject  in  his  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States, 
refers  to  forty-two  different  works  for  notices  and  speculations 
concerning  Atlantis.  The  latest  advocacy  of  the  idea  of  an 
actual  island -continent  of  the  mid -Atlantic,  liteially  en- 
gulfed in  the  ocean,  within  a  period  authentically  embraced 
by  historical  tradition,  is  to  be  found  in  its  most  popular  form 
in  Mr.  Ignatius  Donnelly's  Atlantis,  the  Antediluvian  World. 
By  him,  as  by  Abb(5  Brasseur,  the  concurrent  opinions  of  the 
highest  authorities  in  science,  that  the  main  features  of  the 
Atlantic  basin  have  undergone  no  change  within  anj-^  recent 
geological  period,  are  wholly  ignored.  To  those,  therefore,  who 
attach  any  value  to  scientific  evidence,  such  speculations  pre- 
sent no  serious  claims  on  their  study.  There  is,  indeed,  an 
idea  favoured  by  certain  students  of  science,  who  carry  the 
spirit  of  nationality  into  regions  ordinarily  regarded  as  lying 
outside  of  any  sectional  pride,  that,  geologically  speaking, 
America  is  the  older  continent.  It  may  at  least  be  accepted 
as  beyond  dispute,  that  that  continent  and  the  great  Atlantic 
basin  intervening  between  it  and  Europe  are  alike  of  a  geolo- 
gical antiquity  which  places  the  age  of  either  entirely  apart 
from  all  speculations  affecting  human  history.  But  such  fan- 
cies are  wholly  superfluous.     The  idea  of  intercourse  between 


1 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS  7 

the  Old  and  the  New  World  prior  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
passed  from  the  region  of  speculation  to  the  domain  of  historical 
fact,  when  the  publication  of  the  Antiqiiitates  Americancc  and 
the  Gi'onland's  Historiske  Mindesmoerker,  by  the  antiquaries  of 
Copenhagen,  adduced  contemporary  authorities,  and  indisput- 
ably genuine  runic  inscriptions,  in  proof  of  the  visits  of  the 
Northmen  to  Greenland  and  the  mainland  of  North  America, 
before  the  close  of  the  tenth  century. 

The  idea  of  pre-Columbian  intercourse  between  Europe  and 
America,  is  thus  no  novelty.  What  we  have  anew  to  consider 
is  :  whether,  in  its  wider  aspect,  it  is  more  consistent  with  prob- 
aoility  than  the  revived  notion  of  a  continent  engulfed  in 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  ?  The  earliest  students  of  American  anti- 
quities turned  to  Phoenicia,  Egypt,  or  other  t'-^  -world  centres 
of  early  civilisation,  for  the  source  of  Mexican,  Peruvian,  and 
Central  American  art  or  letters ;  and,  indeed,  so  long  as  the 
unity  of  the  human  race  remained  unquestioned,  some  theory 
of  a  common  source  for  the  races  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World 
was  inevitable.  The  idea,  therefore,  that  the  new  world  which 
Columbus  revealed,  was  none  other  than  the  long- lost  Atlantis, 
is  one  that  has  probably  suggested  itself  independently  to  many 
minds.  Eeferences  to  America  have,  in  like  manner,  been 
sought  for  in  obscure  allusions  of  Herodotus,  Seneca,  Pliny, 
and  other  classical  writers,  to  islands  or  continents  in  the  ocean 
which  extended  beyond  the  western  verge  of  the  world  as  known 
to  them.  That  such  allusions  should  be  vague,  was  inevitable. 
If  they  had  any  foundation  in  a  knowledge  by  elder  genera- 
tions of  this  western  hemisphere,  the  tradition  had  come  down 
to  them  by  the  oral  transmissions  of  centuries ;  while  their 
knowledge  of  their  own  eastern  hemisphere  was  limited  and 
very  imperfect.  "  The  Cassiterides,  from  which  tin  is  brought " 
— assumed  to  be  the  British  Isles, — were  known  to  Herodotus 
only  a^  uncertainly  located  islands  of  the  Atlantic  of  which  he 
had  no  direct  information.  When  Assuryuchurabal,  the  founder 
of  the  palace  at  Nimrud,  conquered  the  people  who  lived  on 
the  banks  of  the  Orontes  from  the  confines  of  Hamath  to  the 
sea,  the  spoils  obtained  from  them  included  one  hundred  talents 
of  anna,  or  tin;  and  the  same  prized  metal  is  repeatedly 
named  in  cuneiform  inscriptions.  T^\e  people  trading  in  tin,  sup- 
posed to  be  identical  with  the  Shirutana,  were  the  merchants 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


of  the  world  before  Tyre  assumed  her  place  as  chief 
among  the  merchant  princes  of  the  sea.  Yet  already,  in  the 
time  of  Joshua,  she  was  known  as  "the  strong  city.  Tyre." 
"  Great  Zidon  "  also  is  so  named,  along  with  her,  when  Joshua 
defines  the  bounds  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  extending  to  the  sea 
coast ;  and  is  celebrated  by  Homer  for  its  works  of  art.  The 
Seleucia,  or  Cilicia,  of  the  Greeks  was  an  attempted  restora- 
tion of  the  ancient  seaport  of  the  Shirutana,  which  may  have 
been  an  emporium  of  Khita  merchandise ;  as  it  was,  un- 
doubtedly, an  important  place  of  shipment  for  the  Phoenicians 
in  their  overland  trade  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  One 
favoured  etymology  of  Britain,  as  the  name  of  the  islands  whence 
tin  was  brought,  is  harat-anna,  assumed  to  have  been  applied  to 
them  by  that  ancient  race  of  merchant  princes:  the  Cassiterides 
being  the  later  Aiyan  equivalent,  Gr.  Kaaa-irepof;,  Sansk.  kastira. 
In  primitive  centuries,  when  ancient  maritime  races  thus 
held  supremacy  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  voyages  were  un- 
doubtedly made  far  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  Phoenicians, 
who  of  all  the  nations  settled  on  its  shores  lay  am.oug  the 
remotest  from  the  outlying  ocean,  habitually  traded  with 
settlements  on  the  Atlantic.  They  colonised  the  western 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean  at  a  remote  period;  occupied 
numerous  favourable  trading  posts  on  the  bays  and  headlands 
of  the  Euxine,  as  well  as  of  Sicily  and  others  of  the  larger 
islands ;  and  passing  beyond  the  straits,  effected  settlements 
along  the  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa.  According  to  Strabo 
(i.  48),  they  had  factories  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  in 
the  period  immediately  succeeding  the  Trojan  war:  an  era 
which  yearly  becomes  for  us  less  mythical,  and  to  which  may 
be  assigned  the  great  development  of  the  commercial  prosperity 
of  Tyre.  The  Phoenicians  were  then  expanding  their  trading 
enterprise,  and  extending  explorations  so  as  to  command  the 
remotest  available  sources  of  wealth.  The  trade  of  Tarsbish 
was  for  Phoenicia  what  that  of  the  East  has  been  to  England 
in  modern  centuries.  The  Tartessus,  on  which  the  Arabs  of 
Spain  subsequently  conferred  the  name  of  the  Guadalquivir, 
afforded  ready  access  to  a  rich  mining  district;  and  also 
formed  the  centre  of  valuable  fisheries  of  tunny  and  mursena. 
By  means  of  its  navigable  waters,  along  with  those  of  the 
Guadina,  Phoenician  traders  were  able  to  penetrate  far  inland ; 


9. 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


larger 


and  the  colonies  established  at  their  mouths  furnishsd  fresh 
starting  points  for  adventurous  exploration  alon^  the  Atlantic 
seaboard.  They  derived  much  at  least  of  the  tin,  which  was 
an  important  object  of  traffic,  from  the  mines  of  north-west 
Spain,  and  from  Cornwall ;  though,  doubtless,  both  the  tin  of 
the  Cassiterides  and  amber  from  the  Baltic  were  also  trans- 
ported by  overland  routes  to  the  Adriatic  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Ehone.  It  was  a  Phoenician  expedition  which,  in  the 
reign  of  Pharaoh  Necho,  B.C.  611-605,  after  the  decline  of 
that  great  maritime  power,  accomplished  the  feat  of  circum- 
navigating Africa  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea.  Hanno,  a 
Carthaginian,  not  only  guided  the  Punic  fleet  round  tlie 
parts  of  Libya  which  border  on  the  Atlantic,  but  has  been 
credited  with  reaching  the  Indian  Ocean  by  the  same  route 
as  that  which  Vasco  de  Gama  successfully  followed  in  1497. 
The  object  of  Hanno's  expedition,  as  stated  in  the  PeripHs, 
was  to  found  Liby- Phoenician  cities  beyond  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules.  How  far  south  his  voyage  actually  extended  along 
the  African  coast  is  matter  of  conjecture,  or  of  disputed  inter- 
pretation ;  for  the  original  work  is  lost.  It  is  sufficient  for  our 
purpose  to  know  that  he  did  pursue  the  same  route  which  led 
in  a  later  century  to  the  discovery  of  Brazil.  Aristotle  applies 
the  name  of  "  Antilla "  to  a  Carthaginian  discovery ;  and 
Diodorus  Siculus  assigns  to  the  Carthaginians  the  knowledge 
of  an  island  in  the  ocean,  the  secret  of  which  they  reserved  to 
themselves,  as  a  refuge  to  which  they  could  withdraw,  should 
fate  ever  compel  them  to  desert  their  African  homes.  It  is 
far  from  improbable  that  we  may  identify  this  obscure  island 
with  one  of  the  Azores,  which  lie  800  miles  from  the  coast 
of  Portugal.  Neither  Greek  nor  Eoman  writers  make  other 
reference  to  them ;  but  the  discovery  of  numerous  Carthaginian 
coins  at  Corvo,  the  extreme  north-westerly  island  of  the  group, 
leaves  little  room  to  doubt  that  they  were  visited  by  Punic 
voyagers.  There  is  therefore  nothing  extravagant  in  the 
assumption  that  we  have  here  the  "  Antilla "  mentioned  by 
Aristotle.  While  the  Carthaginian  oligarchy  ruled,  naval 
adventure  was  still  encouraged ;  but  the  maritime  era  of  the 
Mediterranean  belongs  to  more  ancient  centuries.  The  Greeks 
were  inferior  in  enterprise  to  the  Phoenicians ;  while  the 
Romans  were  essentially  unmaritime ;  and  the  revival  of  the 


lO 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


i!'"i 


old  adventurous  spirit  with  the  rise  of  the  Venetian  and 
Genoese  republics  was  due  to  the  infusion  of  fresh  blood  from 
the  great  northern  home  of  the  sea-kings  of  the  Baltic. 

The  history  of  the  ancient  world  is,  for  us,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  history  of  civilisation  among  the  nations  around 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Its  name  perpetuates  the  recognition 
of  it  from  remote  times  as  the  great  inland  sea  which  kept 
apart  and  yet  united,  in  intercourse  and  exchange  of  experience 
and  culture,  the  diverse  branches  of  the  human  family  settled 
on  its  shores.  Of  the  history  of  those  nations,  we  only  know 
some  later  chapters.  Disclosures  of  recent  years  have  startled 
us  with  recovered  glimpses  of  the  Khita,  or  Hittites,  as  a  great 
power  centred  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Orontes,  but 
extending  into  Asia  Minor,  and  about  B.C.  1200  reaching 
westward  to  the  jSilgean  Sea.  All  but  their  name  seemed  to 
have  perished ;  and  they  were  known  only  as  one  among 
diverse  Canaanitish  tribes,  believed  to  have  been  displaced  by 
the  Hebrew  inheritors  of  Palestine.  Yet  now,  as  Professor 
Curtius  has  pointed  out,  we  begin  to  recognise  that  "  one  of 
the  paths  by  which  the  art  and  civilisation  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  made  their  way  to  Greece,  was  along  the  great  high- 
road which  runs  across  Asia  Minor ; "  and  which  the  projected 
railway  route  through  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  seeks  to 
revive.  For,  as  compared  with  Egypt,  and  the  earliest  nations 
of  Eastern  Asia,  the  Greeks  were,  indeed,  children.  It  was  to 
the  Phoenicians  that  the  ancients  assigned  the  origin  of  naviga- 
tion. Their  skill  as  seamen  was  the  subject  of  admiration 
even  by  the  later  Greeks,  who  owned  themselves  to  be  their 
pupils  in  seamanship,  and  called  the  pole-star,  the  Phoenician 
star.  Their  naval  commerce  is  set  forth  in  glowing  rhetoric 
by  the  prophet  Ezekiel.  "  0  Tyrus,  thou  that  art  situate  at 
the  entry  of  the  sea,  a  merchant  of  the  people  of  many  isles. 
Thy  borders  are  in  the  midst  of  the  seas.  The  inhabitants 
of  Zidon  and  Arvad  were  thy  mariners.  Thy  wise  men,  O 
Tyrus,  were  thy  pilots.  All  the  ships  of  the  sea,  with  their 
mariners,  were  in  thee  to  occupy  thy  merchandise."  But  this 
was  spoken  at  the  close  of  Phoenician  history,  in  the  last  days 
of  Tyre's  supremacy. 

Looking  back  then  into  the  dim  dawn  of  actual  history, 
with  whatever  fresh  light  recent  discoveries  have  thrown  upon 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


II 


it :  this,  at  least,  seems  to  claim  recognition  from  us,  that  in 
that  remote  era  the  eastern  Mediterranean  was  a  centre  of 
maritime  enterprise,  such  as  had  no  equal  among  the  nations 
of  antiquity.  Even  in  the  decadence  of  Phajnicia,  her  maritime 
skill  remained  unmatched.  Egypt  and  Palestine,  under  their 
greatest  rulers,  recognised  her  as  mistress  of  the  sea ;  and,  as 
has  been  already  noted,  the  circumnavigation  of  Africa  — 
which,  when  it  was  repeated  in  the  fifteenth  century,  was 
considered  an  achievement  fully  equalling  that  of  Columbus, — 
had  long  before  been  accomplished  by  Phcenician  mariners. 
Carthage  inherited  th*^  enterprise  of  the  mother  country,  but 
never  equalled  her  achievements.  With  the  fall  of  Carthage, 
the  Mediterranean  became  a  mere  Eoman  lake,  over  which  the 
gallies  of  Rome  sailed  reluctantly  with  her  armed  hosts ;  or 
coasting  along  shore,  they  "  committed  themselves  to  the  sea, 
and  loosed  the  rudder  bands,  and  hoisted  up  the  mainsail  to 
the  winds ; "  or  again,  "  strake  sail,  and  so  were  driven,"  after 
the  blundering  fashion  described  in  the  voyage  of  St.  Paul. 
To  such  a  people,  the  memories  of  Punic  exploration  or 
Phcenician  enterprise,  or  the  vague  legends  of  an  Atlantis 
beyond  the  engirdling  ocean,  were  equally  unavailing.  The 
narrow  sea  between  Gaul  and  Britain  was  barrier  enough  to 
daunt  the  boldest  of  them  from  willingly  encountering  the 
dangers  of  an  expedition  to  what  seemed  to  them  literally 
another  world. 

Seeing  then  that  the  first  steps  in  navigation  were  taken  in 
an  age  lying  beyond  all  memory,  and  that  the  oldest  traditions 
assign  its  origin  to  the  remarkable  people  who  figure  alike  in 
early  sacred  and  profane  history — in  Joshua  and  Ezekiel,  in 
Dius  and  Menander  of  Ephesus,  in  the  Homeric  poems  and  in 
later  Greek  writings, — as  unequalled  in  their  enterprise  on  the 
sea:  what  impediments  existed  in  B.C.  1400  or  any  earlier 
century  that  did  not  still  exist  in  a.d.  1400,  to  render  inter- 
course between  the  eastern  and  the  western  hemisphere 
impossible?  America  was  no  further  off  from  Tarshish  in 
the  golden  age  of  Tyre  than  in  that  of  Henry  the  Navigator. 
With  the  aid  of  literary  memorials  of  the  race  of  sea-rovers 
who  carved  out  for  themselves  the  Duchy  of  Normandy  from 
the  domain  of  Charlemagne's  heir,  and  spoiled  the  Angles  and 
Saxons  in  their  island  home,  we  glean  sufficient  evidence  to 


12 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


IX 


mil 


ill 


place  the  fact  beyond  all  doubt  that,  after  discovering  and 
colonising  Iceland  and  Greenland,  they  made  their  way  south- 
ward to  Labrador,  and  so,  some  way  along  the  American  coast. 
How  far  south  their  explorations  actually  extended,  after  being 
long  assigned  to  the  locality  of  Ehode  Island,  has  anew  excited 
interest,  and  is  still  a  matter  of  controversy.  The  question  is 
reviewed  on  a  subsequent  page ;  but  its  final  settlement  does 
not,  in  any  degree,  afiect  the  present  question.  Certain  it  is 
that,  about  a.d.  1000,  when  St.  Olaf  was  introducing  Christi- 
anity by  a  sufficiently  high-handed  process  into  the  Norse 
fatherland,  Leif,  the  son  of  Eric,  the  founder  of  the  first 
Greenland  colony,  sailed  from  Ericsfiord,  or  other  Greenland 
port,  in  quest  of  southern  lands  already  reported  to  have  been 
seen,  and  did  land  on  more  than  one  point  of  the  North 
American  coast.  We  know  what  the  ships  of  those  Norse 
rovers  were  :  mere  galleys,  not  larger  than  a  good  fishing 
smack,  and  far  infenor  to  it  in  deck  and  rigging.  For  compass 
they  had  only  the  same  old  "  Phoenician  star,"  which,  from  the 
birth  of  navigation,  had  guided  the  mariners  of  the  ancient 
world  over  the  pathless  deep.  The  track  pursued  by  tlie 
Northmen,  from  Norway  to  Iceland,  and  so  to  Greenland  and 
the  Labrador  coast,  was,  doubtless,  then  as  now,  beset  by  fogs, 
so  that  "  neither  sun  nor  stars  in  many  days  appeared " ; 
and  they  stood  much  more  in  need  of  compass  than  the 
sailors  of  the  "  Santa  Maria,"  the  "  Pinta,"  and  the  "  Nina," 
the  little  fleet  with  which  Columbus  sailed  from  the  Andalusian 
port  of  Palos,  to  his  first  discovered  land  of  "  Guanahani," 
variously  identified  among  the  islands  of  the  American  Archi- 
pelago. Yet,  notwithstanding  all  the  advantages  of  a  southern 
latitude,  with  its  clearer  skies,  we  have  to  remember  that  the 
"  Santa  Maria,"  the  only  decked  vessel  of  the  expedition,  was 
stranded ;  and  the  "  Pinta  "  and  "  Nina,"  on  which  Columbus 
and  his  party  had  to  depend  for  their  homeward  voyage,  were 
mere  coasting  craft,  the  one  with  a  crew  of  thirty,  and  the 
other  with  twenty-four  men,  with  only  latine  sails.  As  to  the 
compass,  we  perceive  how  little  that  availed,  on  recalling  the 
fact  that  the  Portuguf.ae  admiral,  Pedro  Alvares  de  Cabral, 
only  eight  years  later,  when  following  on  the  route  of  Vasco  de 
Gama,  was  carried  by  the  equatorial  current  so  far  out  of  his 
intended  course  that  he  found  himself  in  sight  of  a  strange 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


13 


land,  in  1 0°  S.  lat.,  and  so  accidentally  discovered  Brazil  and  the 
new  world  of  the  west,  not  by  means  of  the  mariner's  compass, 
but  in  spite  of  its  guidance.  It  is  thus  obvious  that  the 
discovery  of  America  would  have  followed  as  a  result  of  the 
voyage  of  Vasco  de  Gama  round  the  Cape,  wholly  independent 
of  that  of  Columbus.  What  befell  the  Portuguese  admiral  of 
King  Manoel,  in  a.d.  1500,  was  an  experience  that  might  just 
as  readily  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  tlie  Phoenician  admiral  of 
Pharaoh  Necho  in  B.C.  600,  to  the  Punic  Hanno,  or  other  early 
navigators ;  and  may  have  repeatedly  occurred  to  Mediterranean 
adventurers  on  the  Atlantic  in  older  centuries.  On  the  news 
of  de  Cabral's  discovery  reaching  Portugal,  the  King  despatched 
the  Florentine,  Amerigo  Vespucci,  who  explored  the  coast  of 
South  America,  prepared  a  map  of  the  new-found  world,  and 
thereby  wrested  from  Columbus  the  honour  of  giving  his  name 
to  the  continent  which  he  discovered. 

When  we  turn  from  the  myths  and  traditions  of  the  Old 

World  to  those  of  the  New,  we  find  there  traces  that  seem  not 

unfairly  interprotable  into  the  American  counterpart  of  the 

legend    of  Atlantis.     The   chief  seat  of  the   highest  native 

American  civilisation,  is  neither  Mexico  nor  Peru,  but  Central 

America.       The    nations    of   the    Maya   stock,    who    inhibit 

Yucatan,    Guatemala,    and    the    neighbouring    region,    were 

peculiarly  favourably    situated ;    and    they    appear    to    have 

achieved  the  greatest    progress    among   the    communities    of 

Central  America.     They  may  not  unfitly  compare  with  the 

ancient  dwellers  in  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  from  the  grave 

mounds  of  whose  buried  cities  we    are    now  recovering  the 

history  of  ages  that  had  passed  into  oblivion  before  the  Father 

of  History  assumed  the  pen.     Tested  indeed  by  intervenir<T; 

centuries  their  monuments   are    not  so  venerable ;    but,  for 

America's    chroniclings,  they   are  more  prehistoric   than  the 

disclosures     of    Assyrian    moimds.      The    cities    of    Central 

America  were  large  and  populous,  and  adorned  with  edifices, 

even  now  magnificent  in  their  ruins.     Still  more,  the  Mayas 

were  a  lettered  people,  who,  like  the  Egyptians,  recorded  in 

elaborate  sculptured  hieroglyphics  the  formulae  of  history  and 

creed.     Like  them,  too,  they  wrote  and  ciphered ;  and  appear, 

indeed,  to  have  employed  a  comprehensive  system  of  computing 

time  and  recording  dates,  which,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  will  be 


i  'i 


I     <: 


14 


T///-:  LOST  ATLANTIS 


sufficiently  mastered  to  admit  of  tlie  decipherment  of  their 
ancient  records.     The  Mayas  appear,  soon  after  tlie  Spanish 
Conquest,  to  have  adopted  the  lloman  alphabet,  and  employed 
it  in  recording  their  own  historical  traditions  and   religious 
myths,  as  well  as  in  rendering  into  such  written  characters 
some  of  the  ancient  national  documents.     Those  versions  of 
native  myth  and  history  survive,  and  attention  is  now  being 
directed   to  them.     The   most  recent  contribution  from  this 
source  is  The  Annah  of  the  Cakchiqiiels,  by  Dr.  D.  G.  IJrinton, 
a  carefully  edited  and  annotated  translation  of  a  native  legal 
document  or  titulo,  in  which,  soon  after  the  Conquest,  the  heir 
of  an  ancient  Maya  family  set  forth  the  evidence  of  his  claim 
to  the  inheritance.     Along  with  this  may  be  noted  another 
work  of  the  same  class  :  Titre  GenMogique  dcs  Seig7U%ir8  de 
Totonicapan.       Traduit   de   I'Uspagnol  par  M.    de    Charencey. 
These   two    works   independently    illustrate    the    same    great 
national  event.     In  one,  a  prince  of  the  Cakchiquel  nation,  tells 
of  the  overthrow  of  the  Quichd  power  by  his  people ;  and  in 
the  other  a  Quichci  seignior,  one  of  the  "  Lords  of  Totonicapan," 
describes  it  from  his  own  point  of  view.     Both  wore  of  the 
same  Maya  stock,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Guatemala. 
Each  nation  had  a  capital  adorned  with  temples  and  palaces, 
the  splendour  of  which  excited  the  wonder  of  the  Spaniards ; 
and  both  preserved  traditions  of  the  migration  of  their  ancestors 
from  Tula,  a  mythical  land  from  which  they  came  across  the 
water. 

Such  traditions  of  migration  meet  us  on  many  sides. 
Captain  Cook  found  among  the  mythological  traditions  of 
Tahiti,  a  vague  legend  of  a  ship  that  came  out  of  the  ocean, 
and  seemed  to  be  the  dim  record  of  ancestral  intercourse  with 
the  outer  world.  So  also,  the  Aztecs  had  the  tradition  of  the 
golden  age  of  Anahuac ;  and  of  Quetzalcoatl,  their  instructor 
in  agriculture,  metallurgy  and  the  arts  of  government.  He 
was  of  fair  complexion,  with  long  dark  hair,  and  flowing  beard  : 
all,  characteristics  foreign  to  their  race.  When  his  mission 
was  completed,  he  set  sail  for  the  mysterious  shores  of 
Tlapallan ;  and  on  the  appearance  of  the  ships  of  Cortes,  the 
Spaniards  were  believed  to  have  returned  with  the  di/ine 
instructor  of  their  forefathers,  from  the  source  of  the  rising 
sun. 


*;-,!!! : 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


IS 


What  tradition  hints  at,  physiology  confirms.  The  races 
of  America  differ  less  in  physical  character  from  those  of  Asia, 
than  do  the  races  either  of  Africa  or  Europe.  The  American 
Indian  is  a  Mongol ;  and  though  nuirked  diversities  are  trace- 
able throughout  the  American  continent,  the  range  of  variation 
is  much  less  than  in  the  eastern  hemisphere.  The  western 
continent  apjn  ars  to  have  been  peopled  by  repeated  migrations 
and  by  dive  '^  routes ;  but  when  we  attempt  to  estimate  any 
probable  date  for  its  primeval  settlement,  evidence  wholly 
fails.  Language  proves  elsewhere  a  safe  guide.  It  has 
established  beyond  question  some  long -forgotten  relationship 
between  the  Aryans  of  India  and  Persia  and  those  of  Europe  ;  it 
connects  the  Finn  and  Lapp  with  their  Asiatic  forefathers ;  it 
marks  the  independent  origin  of  the  Basques  and  their  priority 
to  the  oldest  Aryan  intruders ;  it  links  together  widely  diverse 
branches  of  the  great  Semitic  family.  Can  language  tell  us  of 
any  such  American  affinities,  or  of  traces  of  Old  World  con- 
geners, in  relation  to  either  civilised  Mayas  and  Peruvians,  or 
to  the  forest  and  prairie  races  of  the  northern  continent  ? 

With  the  millions  of  America's  coloured  population,  of 
African  blood  and  yet  speaking  Aryan  languages,  the  Amer- 
ican comparative  philologist  can  scarcely  miss  the  significance 
of  the  warning  that  linguistic  and  ethnical  classifications  by  no 
means  necessarily  imply  the  same  thing.  Nevertheless,  with- 
out overlooking  this  distinction,  the  ethnical  significance  of  the 
evidence  which  comparative  philology  supplies  cannot  be 
slighted  in  any  question  relative  to  prehistoric  relations 
between  the  Old  World  and  the  New.  What  then  can  phil- 
ology tell  us  ?  There  is  one  answer,  at  the  least,  which  the 
languages  of  America  give,  that  fully  iccords  with  the  legend, 
"  white  with  age,"  that  told  of  an  island-continent  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  with  which  the  nations  around  the  Mediter- 
ranean once  held  intercourse.  None  of  them  indicates  any 
trace  of  immigration  within  the  period  of  earliest  authentic 
history.  Those  who  attach  significance  to  tho  references  in 
the  Tinucus  to  political  relations  common  to  Atlantis  and 
parts  of  Libya  and  Europe ;  or  who,  on  other  grounds,  look 
with  favour  on  the  idea  of  early  intercourse  between  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  western  continent,  have  naturally 
tui-ned   to   the   Eskuara   of   the   Basques.     It  is  invariably 


i6 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


recognised  as  the  surviving  representative  of  languages  spoken 
by  the  Allophylise  of  Europe  before  the  intrusion  of  Aryans. 
The  forms  of  its  grammar  differ  widely  from  those  of  any 
Semitic,  or  Indo-European  tongue,  placing  it  in  the  same  class 
with  Mongol,  East  African,  and  American  languages.  Here, 
therefore,  is  a  tempting  glimpse  of  possible  affinities  ;  and 
Professor  Whitney,  accordingly,  remarks  in  his  Life  and  Growth 
of  Languages,  that  the  Basque  "  forms  a  suitable  stepping-stone 
from  which  to  enter  the  peculiar  linguistic  domain  of  the  New 
World,  sines  there  is  no  other  dialect  of  the  Old  World  which 
so  much  resembles  in  structure  the  American  languages."  But 
this  glimpse  of  possible  relationship  has  proved,  thus  far, 
illusory.  In  their  morphological  character,  certain  American 
and  Asiatic  languages  have  a  common  agglutinative  structure, 
which  in  the  former  is  developed  into  their  charr.cteristic 
polysynthetic  attribute.  With  this,  the  Eskuarian  system  of 
affixes  corresponds.  But  beyond  the  general  structure,  there 
is  no  such  evidence  of  affinity,  either  in  the  vocabularies  or 
grammar,  as  direct  affiliation  might  be  expected  to  show. 
Elements  common  to  the  Anglo-American  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  the  Sanskrit-speaking  race  beyond  the  ludus,  in 
the  era  of  Alexander  of  Macedon,  are  suggested  at  once  by  the 
grammatical  structure  of  their  languages;  whereas  there  is 
nothing  iu  the  resemblance  between  the  Basque  and  any  of 
the  North  American  languages  that  is  not  compatible  with  a 
"  stepping-stoue  "  from  Asia  to  America  by  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific.  The  most  important  of  all  the  native  American 
languages  in  their  bearing  on  this  interesting  inquiry — those 
of  Central  America, — are  only  now  receiving  adequate  attention. 
Startling  evidence  may  yet  reward  the  diligence  of  students ; 
but,  so  far  as  language  furnishes  any  clue  to  affinity  of  race, 
no  American  language  thus  far  discloses  such  a  relationship, 
as,  for  example,  enabled  Dr.  Pritchard  to  suggest  that  the 
western  people  of  Europe,  to  whom  the  Greeks  gave  the 
collective  name  of  KeXrat,  and  whose  languages  had  been 
assumed  by  all  previous  ethnologists  as  furnishing  evidence 
that  they  were  precursors  of  the  Aryan  immigrants,  in  reality 
justified  their  classification  in  the  same  stock. 

But  while  thus  far,  the  evidence  of  language  is,  at  best, 
vague  and  indefinite  in  its  response  to  the  inquiry  for  proofs 


|i:fi 

1!tl  •     i 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


17 


; 


of  relationship  of  the  races  of  America  to  those  of  the  Old 
World ;  physiological  comparisons  lend  no  confirmalion  to  the 
idea  of  an  indigenous  native  race,  with  special  affinities  and 
adaptation  to  its  peculiar  environment,  and  with  languages  all 
of  one  class,  the  ramifications  from  a  single  native  stem.  So 
far  as  physical  affinities  can  be  relied  upon,  the  man  of 
America,  in  all  his  most  characteristic  racial  diversities,  is  of 
Asiatic  origin.  His  near  approximation  to  the  Asiatic  Mongol 
is  so  manifest  as  to  have  led  observers  of  widely  different 
opinions  in  all  other  respects,  to  concur  in  classing  both  under 
the  same  great  division :  the  Mongolian  of  Pickering,  the 
American  Mongolidse  of  Latham,  the  Mongoloid  of  Huxley. 
Professor  Flower,  in  an  able  discussion  of  the  varieties  of  the 
human  species,  addressed  to  the  Anthropological  Institute  of 
Great  Britian  in  1885,  unhesitatingly  classes  the  Eskimo  as 
the  typio^.l  North  Asiatic  Mongol.  In  other  American  races 
he  notes  as  distinctive  features  the  characteristic  form  of  the 
nasal  bones,  the  well-developed  superciliary  ridgo,  and  re- 
treating forehead;  but  the  resemblance  is  so  obvious  in 
many  other  respects,  that  he  finally  includes  them  all 
among  the  members  of  the  Mongolian  type.  If,  then, 
the  American  Mongol  came  originally  from  Asia,  or 
sprung  from  the  common  stock  of  which  the  Asiatic 
Mongol  is  the  typical  representative,  within  any  such 
period  as  even  earliest  Phoenician  history  would  embrace, 
much  more  definite  traces  of  affinity  are  to  be  looked 
for  in  his  language  than  mere  correspondence  in  the 
agglutination  characteristic  of  a  very  widely  -  diffused 
class  of  speech.  But  we,  thus  far,  look  in  vain 
for  traces  of  a  common  genealogy  such  as  those  which,  on 
the  one  hand,  correlate  the  Semitic  and  Aryan  families  of 
Asia  and  Europe  with  parent  stocks  of  times  anterior  to 
history,  and  on  the  other,  with  ramifications  of  modern 
centuries.  We  have,  moreover,  to  deal  mainly  with  the 
languages  of  uncivilised  races.  To  the  continent  north  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  grand  civilising  art  of  the  metallurgist 
remained  to  the  last  unknown ;  and  in  Mexico,  it  appears  as  a 
gift  of  recent  origin,  derived  from  Central  America.  The 
Asiatic  origin  of  the  art  of  Tubal-cain  has,  indeed,  been  pretty 
generally  assumed,  both  for  Central  and  Southern  America; 

c 


i8 


THE  L  JST  ATLANTIS 


but  by  mere  inference.  In  doing  so,  we  are  carried  back  to 
some  mythic  Quetzalcoatl :  for  neither  the  metallurgist  nor 
his  art  was  introduced  in  recent  centuries.  Assuming,  for  the 
sake  of  argument,  the  dispersion  of  a  common  pojiulation  of 
Asia  and  America,  already  familiar  with  the  working  of  metals, 
and  with  architecture,  sculpture  and  other  kindred  arts,  at  a 
date  coeval  with  the  founding  of  Tyre,  "  the  daughter  of  Sidon," 
what  help  does  language  give  us  in  favour  of  such  a  postulate  ? 
We  have  great  language  groups,  such  as  the  Huron-Iroquois, 
extending  of  old  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  NoHh  Carolina  , 
the  Algonkin,  from  Hudson  Bay  to  South  i.  irolina;  the 
Dakotan,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Eocky  Mountains ;  the 
Athabascan,  from  the  Eskimo  frontier,  within  the  Arctic  circle, 
to  New  Mexico ;  and  the  Tinn^  family  of  languages  west  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  from  the  Youkon  and  Mackenzie  rivers,  far 
south  on  the  Pacific  slope.  With  those,  as  with  the  more  cultured 
languages,  or  rather  languages  of  the  more  cultured  races,  of 
Central  and  Southern  America,  elaborate  comparisons  have 
been  made  with  vocabularies  of  Asiatic  languages;  but  the 
results  are,  at  best,  vague.  Curious  points  of  agreement  have, 
indeed,  been  demonstrated,  inviting  to  further  research ;  but 
as  yet  the  evidence  of  relationship  mainly  rests  on  corre- 
spondence in  structure.  The  agglutinative  suffixes  are  common 
to  the  Eskimo  and  many  American  Indian  tongues.  Dr.  H. 
Eink  describes  the  polysynthetic  process  in  the  Eskimo  language 
as  founded  on  radical  words,  to  which  additional  or  imperfect 
words,  or  affixes,  are  attached ;  and  on  the  inflexion,  which,  for 
transitive  verbs,  indicates  subject  as  well  as  object,  likewise  by 
addition.  But,  while  Professor  Flower  unhesitatingly  char- 
acterises the  Eskimo  as  belonging  to  the  typical  North  Asiatic 
Mongols ;  he,  at  the  same  time,  speaks  of  them  as  almost  as 
perfectly  isolated  in  their  Arctic  home  "  as  an  island  popula- 
tion." Nevertheless,  the  same  structure  is  common  to  their 
language  and  to  those  of  the  great  North  Anierican  families 
already  named.  All  alike  present,  in  an  exaggerated  form,  the 
characteristic  stn'.cture  of  the  Ural-Altaic  or  Turanian  group  of 
Asiatic  languages. 

Eace-type  corresponds  in  the  Old  and  New  World.  A 
comparison  of  languages  by  means  of  the  vocabularies  of  the 
two  continents,  yields  no  such  correspondence.     AU  the  more, 


:| 


fli 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


19 


back  to 
gist  nor 
,  for  the 
lation  of 
f  metals, 
irts,  at  a 
f  Sidon," 
)stulate  ? 
Iroquois, 
llaroline  , 
ina;  the 
ins ;  the 
ic  circle. 
!St  of  the 
ivers,  far 
cultured 
races,  of 
)ns  have 
but  the 
But  have, 
:ch;  but 
)n  corre- 
common 
Dr.  H. 
language 
mperfect 
hich,  for 
ewise  by 
y  char- 
Asiatic 
most  as 
popula- 
te their 
families 
brm,  the 
group  of 

irld.     A 
of  the 
le  more. 


therefore,  is  the  American  student  of  comparative  philology 
stimulated  to  investigate  the  significance  0^  the  polysynthetic 
characteristic  found  to  pertain  to  so  many — tliough  by  no 
means  to  all — of  the  languages  of  this  continent.  The 
relationship  which  it  suggests  to  the  agglutinative  languages 
of  Asia,  furnishes  a  subject  of  investigation  not  less  interesting 
to  American  students,  alike  of  the  science  of  language,  and 
of  the  whole  comprehensive  questions  which  anthropology 
embraces,  than  the  relations  of  the  Eomance  languages  of 
Europe  to  the  parent  Latin ;  or  of  Latin  itself,  and  all  the 
Aryan  languages,  ancient  and  modern,  not  only  to  Sanskrit 
and  Zend,  but  to  the  indeterminate  stock  which  furnished  the 
parent  roots,  the  grammatical  forms,  and  that  whole  class  of 
words  still  recognisable  as  the  common  propeny  of  the  whole 
Aryan  family.  Sanskrit  was  a  dead  language  three  thousand 
years  ago ;  the  Iilnglish  lan<;;uage,  as  such,  cannot  claim  to 
have  endured  much  more  than  fourteen  centuries,  yet  both 
partake  of  the  same  common  property  of  numerals  and  familiar 
terms  existing  under  certain  modifications  in  Sanskrit,  Greek, 
Latin,  Slavonic,  Celtic,  German,  Anglo-Saxon,  and  in  all  the 
Romance  languages.  Thus  far  the  American  philologist  has 
been  unable  to  show  any  such  genealogical  relationship  per- 
vading the  native  languages ;  or  to  recover  specific  evidence 
of  affinities  to  languages,  and  so  to  races  of  other  continents. 
There  are,  indeed,  linguistic  families,  such  as  some  already 
referred  to,  indicating  a  common  descent  among  widely  dis- 
persed tribes;  but  this  has  its  chief  interest  in  relation  to 
another  aspect  of  the  question. 

Professor  Max  Miiller  has  drawn  attention  to  the  tendency 
of  the  langaages  of  America  towards  an  endless  multiplication 
of  distinct  dialects.  Those  again  have  been  grouped  by  the 
synthetic  process  of  Hervas  into  eleven  families  :  seven  for  the 
northern  continent,  and  four  for  South  America.  But  we  are 
as  yet  only  on  the  threshold  of  this  important  branch  of 
research.  In  two  papers  contributed  by  M.  Lucien  Adam  to 
the  Congrh  Interrvacional  des  Atnericanistes,  he  gives  the 
results  of  a  careful  examination  of  sixteen  languages  of  North 
and  South  America;  and  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  they 
belong  to  a  number  of  independent  families  as  essentially 
distinct  as  they  would  have  been  "  had  there  been  primitively 


30 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


ii  "■' 


^ 


several    human    pairs."       Dr.    Brirton,    one    of   the   highest 
authorities  on  any  question  connected  with  native  American 
languages,  contributed  a  paper  to  the  Amcricati  Antiquarian 
(Jan.  1886),  "  On  the  Study  of  the  Nahuatl  Language."     This 
language,  which  is   popularly  known   as  Aztec,  he  strongly 
commends  to  the  study  of  American  philologists.       It  is  one 
of  the  most   completely  organised  of  Indian  languages,   has 
a  literature  of  considerable  extent  and  variety,  and  is  still  in 
use  by  upwards  of  half  a  million  of  people.     It  is  from  this 
area,   southward  through  Central  America,  and  in  the  great 
seat  of  native  South  American  civilisation,  that  we  can  alone 
hope  to  recover  direct  evidence  of  ancient  intercourse  between 
the  Old  and  the  New  World.    But,  here  again,  the  com;jlexities 
of  language  seem  to  grow  apace.     In  Dr.  Brinton's  Notes  on 
the  Manyue,  an   extinct  Lanytiage  formerly  spoken  in  Nicar- 
agua, he  states,  as  a  result  of  his  later  studies,  that  the  belief 
which  he  once  entertained  of  some  possible  connection  between 
this  dialect  and  the  Aymara  of  I'eru,  has  not  been  confirmed 
on  further  examination.     This,  therefore,  tends  to  sustain  the 
prevailing  opinion  of  scholars  that  there  is  no  direct  affiliation 
between  the  languages  of  North  and  South  America.     All  this 
is  suggestive  either  of  an  idea,  such  as  that  which  Agassiz 
favoured  in  his  system  of  natural  provinces  of  the  animal 
world,  in  relation  to  different  types  of  man,  on   which   he 
based  the  conclusion  that  the  diverse  varieties  of  American 
man  originated  in  various  centres,  and  had  been  distributed 
from  them  over  the   entire  continent ;  or  we  must  assume 
immigration  from  different  foreign   centres.      Accepting  the 
latter  as  the  more  tenable  proposition,  I  long  ago  sketched 
a  scheme  of  immigration  such  as  seemed  to  harmonise  with 
the  suggestive,  though  imperfect  evidence.      This  assumed  the 
earliest  current  of  population,  in  its  progress  from  a  supposed 
Asiatic  cradle-land,  to  have  spread  through  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific,  and  reached  the  South  x\merican  continent  before  any 
excess  of  population  had  diffused  itself  into  the  inhospitable 
northern  steppes  of  Asia.      By  an  Atlantic  oceanic  migration, 
another  wave  of  population  occupied  the  Canaries,  Madeiras, 
and  the  Azores,  and  so  passed  to  the  Antilles,  Central  America, 
and  probably   by  the  Cape  Verdes,  or,  guided  by  the  more 
southern  equatorial  current,  to  Brazil.      Latest  of  all,  Behring 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


4 

Strait  and  the  North  Pacific  Islands  may  have  become  the 
highway  for  a  migration  by  which  certain  striking  diversities 
among  nations  of  the  northern  continent,  inchiding  the  con- 
querors of  the  Mexican  plateau,  are  most  easily  accounted 
for. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  include  in  the  question  here  dis- 
cussed, the  more  comprehensive  one  of  the  existence  of  man 
in  America  contemporary  with  the  great  extinct  animals  of  the 
Quaternary  Period ;  though  the  acknowledged  affinities  of 
Asiatic  and  American  anthropology,  taken  in  connection  witli 
the  remoteness  of  any  assignable  period  for  migration  from  Asia 
to  the  American  continent,  renders  it  far  from  improbable  that 
the  latest  oscillations  of  land  may  here  also  have  exercised  an 
influence.  The  present  soundings  of  Behring  Strait,  and  the 
bed  of  the  sea  extending  southward  to  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
entirely  accord  with  the  assumption  of  a  former  continuity  of 
land  between  Asia  and  America.  The  idea  to  which  the 
speculations  of  Darwin,  founded  on  his  observations  during  the 
voyage  of  the '  Beagle,'  gave  rise,  of  a  continuous  subsidence 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  also  favoured  the  probability  of  greater 
insular  facilities  for  trans-oceanic  migration  at  the  supposed 
period  of  the  peopling  of  America  from  Asia.  But  more 
recent  explorations,  and  especially  those  connected  with  the 
'  Challenger '  expedition,  fail  to  confirm  the  old  theory  of  the 
origin  of  the  coral  islands  of  the  Pacific ;  and  in  any  view  of 
the  case,  we  must  be  content  to  study  the  history  of  existing 
races,  alike  of  Europe  and  America,  apart  from  questions 
relating  to  palceocosmic  man.  If  the  vague  legend  of  the 
lost  Atlantis  embodies  any  trace  of  remotest  historical  tradi- 
tion, it  belongs  to  a  modern  era  compared  with  the  men  either 
of  the  European  drift,  or  of  the  post-glacial  deposits  of  the 
Delaware  and  the  auriferous  gravels  of  California.  When  resort 
is  had  to  comparative  philology,  it  is  manifest  t^at  we  must  be 
content  to  deal  with  a  more  recent  era  than  contemporaries  of 
the  Mastodon,  and  their  congeners  of  Europe's  Mammoth  and 
Eeindeer  periods,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  modem 
representatives  of  the  latter  have  been  sought  within  the 
American  Arctic  circle. 

Such  evidence  as  a  comparison  of  languages  thus  far 
supplies,  lends  more  countenance  to  the  idea  of  migration 


aa 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


hi 


iw 


1  " 

Mi  - 


through  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  than  to  such  a  route  from 
the  Mediterranean  as  is  implied  in  any  significance  attached 
to  the  legend  of  Atlantis.  As  to  the  Behring  Strait  route, 
present  ethnology  and  philology  point  rather  to  an  overflow 
of  Arctic  American  population  into  Asia.  Gallatin  was  the 
first  to  draw  attention  to  certain  analogies  in  the  structure  of 
Polynesian  and  American  languages,  as  deserving  of  investiga- 
tion ;  and  pointed  out  the  peculiar  mode  of  expressing  the 
tense,  mood,  and  voice  of  the  verb,  by  affixed  particles,  and 
the  value  given  to  place  over  time,  as  indicated  in  the  pre- 
dominant locative  verbal  form.  Such  are  to  be  looked  for 
with  greater  probability  among  the  languages  of  South  America ; 
but  the  substitution  of  affixed  particles  for  inflections,  especially 
in  expressing  the  direction  of  action  in  relation  to  the  speaker, 
is  common  to  the  Polynesian  and  the  Oregon  languages,  and 
has  analogies  in  the  Cherokee.  The  distinction  between  the 
inclusive  and  exclusive  pronoun  we,  according  as  it  means 
"  you  and  I,"  or  "  they  and  I,"  etc.,  is  as  characteristic  of  the 
Maori  as  of  the  Ojibway.  Other  observations  of  more  recent 
date  have  still  further  tended  to  countenance  the  recognition  of 
elements  common  to  the  languages  of  Polynesia  and  America; 
and  so  to  point  to  migration  by  the  Pacific  to  the  western 
continent. 

But  this  idea  of  a  mipration  through  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  receives  curious  confirmation  from  another  source.  In 
an  ingenious  paper  on  "  The  Origin  of  Primitive  Money,"  ^ 
originally  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at 
Montreal  in  1884,  Mr.  Horatio  Hale  shows  that  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  the  most  ancient  currency  in  China 
consisted  of  disks  and  slips  of  tortoise  shell.  The  fact  is  stated 
in  the  great  Chinese  encyclopaedia  of  the  Emperor  Kang-he, 
who  reigned  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  and 
the  Chinese  annalists  assert  that  metal  coins  have  been  in  use 
from  the  time  of  Fuh-he,  about  B.C.  2950.  Without  attempt- 
ing to  determine  the  specific  accuracy  of  Chinese  chronology, 
it  is  sufficient  to  note  here  that  the  most  ancient  form  of 
Chinese  copper  cash  is  the  disk,  perforated  with  a  square  hole, 
so  as  to  admit  of  the  coins  being  strung  together.  This,  which 
corresponds  in  form  to  the  large  perforated  shell-disks,  or  native 

^  Popular  Science  Monthly,  zxviii.  296. 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


23 


In 

"  1 


currency  of  the  Indians  of  California,  and  with  specimens 
recovered  from  ancient  mounds,  Mr.  Hale  regards  as  the  later 
imitation  in  metal  of  the  original  Chinese  shell  money.  A 
similar  shell-currency,  as  he  shows,  is  in  use  among  many 
islanders  of  the  Pacific ;  and  he  traces  it  from  the  Loo-Choo 
Islands,  across  the  vast  archipelago,  through  many  island 
groups,  to  California;  and  then  overland,  with  the  aid  of 
numerous  disclosures  from  ancient  mounds,  to  the  Atlantic 
coast,  where  the  Indians  of  Long  Island  were  long  noted  for 
its  manufacture  in  the  later  form  of  wampum.  "  The  natives 
of  Micronesia,"  says  Mr.  Hale,  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
records  the  results  of  personal  observation,  "  in  character, 
usages,  and  language,  resemble  to  a  certain  extent  the  nations 
of  the  southern  and  eastern  Pacific  groups,  which  are  included 
in  the  designation  of  Polynesia,  but  with  some  striking  differ- 
ences, which  careful  observers  have  ascribed,  with  great  prob- 
ability, to  influences  from  north-eastern  Asia.  They  are  noted 
for  their  skill  in  navigation.  They  have  well-rigged  vessels, 
exceeding  sixty  feet  in  length.  They  sail  by  the  stars,  and 
are  accustomed  to  take  long  voyages."  To  such  voyagers,  the 
Pacific  presents  no  more  formidable  impediments  to  oceanic 
enterprise  than  did  the  Atlantic  to  the  Northmen  of  the  tenth 
century. 

Throughout  the  same  archipelago,  modern  exploration  is 
rendering  us  familiar  with  examples  of  remarkable  oLone 
structures  and  colossal  sculptured  figures,  such  as  those  from 
Easter  Island  now  in  the  British  Museum.  Eude  as  they 
undoubtedly  are,  they  are  highly  suggestive  of  an  affinity  to 
the  megalithic  sculptures  and  cyclopean  masonry  of  Peru. 
Monuments  of  this  class  were  noted  long  ago  by  Captain 
Beechy  on  some  of  the  islands  nearest  the  coasts  of  Chili  and 
Peru.  Since  then  the  megalithic  area  has  been  extended  by 
their  discovery  in  other  island  groups  lying  towards  the  con- 
tinent of  Asia. 

Another  subsidiary  class  of  evidence  of  a  different  kind, 
long  since  noted  by  me,  gives  additional  confirmation  to  this 
recovered  trail  of  ancient  migration  through  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  to  the  American  continent.  The  practice  to  which  the 
Flathead  Indians  of  Oregon  and  British  Columbia  owe  their 
name,  the  compressed  skulls  from  Peruvian  cemeteries,  and  the 


I  ..'■' 


34 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


I  n„ 


I     !  Ill 

Hi  I  I 


m 


widely-ditfused  evidence  of  tlie  prevalence  of  sucli  artificial 
malformation  among  many  American  tribes,  combine  to  indi- 
cate it  as  one  of  the  most  chart* cteristic  American  customs. 
Yet  the  evidence  is  abuiidant  which  shows  it  not  only  as  a 
practice  among  rude  Asiatic  Mongol  tribes  of  primitive  cen- 
turies ;  but  proves  that  it  was  still  in  use  among  the  Huns  and 
Avars  who  contended  with  the  Barbarians  from  the  Baltic  for 
the  spoils  of  tlie  decaying  Roman  empire.  Nor  was  it  merely 
common  to  tribes  of  both  continents.  It  furnishes  another 
link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  of  ancient  migration  from  Asia 
to  America ;  as  is  proved  by  its  practice  in  some  of  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific,  as  described  by  Dr.  Pickering/  and  since 
abundantly  confirmed  by  the  forms  of  Kanaka  skulls.  By 
following  up  the  traces  of  this  strange  custom,  perpetuated 
among  the  tribes  on  the  Pacific  coasts  both  of  Northern  and 
Southern  America  to  our  own  day,  we  thus  once  more  retrace 
the  steps  of  ancient  wanderers,  and  are  carried  back  to  centuries 
when  the  Macrocephali  of  the  Euxine  attracted  the  observant 
eye  of  Hippocrates,  and  became  familiar  to  Strabo,  Pliny,  and 
Pomponius  Mela. 

But  the  wanderings  among  the  insular  races  of  the  Pacific 
are  not  limited  to  such  remote  eras.  Later  changes  are  also 
recorded  by  other  evidence.  The  direct  relationship  of  existing 
Polynesian  languages  is  not  Mongol  but  Malay ;  but  this  is 
the  intrusive  element  of  a  time  long  subsequent  to  the  growth 
of  characteristic  features  which  still  perpetuate  traces  of  Poly- 
nesian and  American  affinities.  The  number  and  diversity  of 
the  languages  of  the  continent  of  America,  and  their  essentially 
native  vocabularies,  prove  that  the  latter  have  been  in  prolonged 
process  of  development,  free  from  contact  with  languages 
which  appear  to  have  been  still  modelling  themselves  according 
to  the  same  plan  of  thought  in  many  scattered  islands  of  the 
Pacific. 

The  remarkable  amount  of  culture  in  the  languages  of  some 
of  the  barbarous  nations  of  North  America,  traceable,  appar- 
ently, to  the  important  part  which  the  orator  played  in  their 
deliberative  assemblies,  has  not  unnaturally  excited  surprise : 
but  in  any  attempt  to  recover  the  history  of  the  New  World  by 
the  aid  of  philology  we  must  deal  with  the  languages  of  its 

^  Races  of  Man  (Bohn),  p.  446. 


THE  LOST  A  TLANTIS 


as 


M 

:  .-Pi 


civilised  races.  Among  those  the  Nahuatl  or  Aztec  has  been 
appealed  to  ;  and  the  Mayas  have  been  noted  as  a  lettered 
people  whose  hieroglyphic  records,  and  later  transcripts  of 
written  documents,  are  now  the  object  of  intelligent  investigation 
both  by  European  and  American  philologists.  The  Maya 
language  strikingly  contrasts,  in  its  soft,  vocalic  forms,  with 
the  languages  of  nations  immediately  to  the  north  of  its  native 
area.  It  is  that  which,  according  to  Stephens,  was  affirmed  to 
be  still  spoken  by  a  living  race  in  a  region  beyond  the  Great 
Sierra,  extending  to  Yucatan  and  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Others 
among  the  cultured  native  languages  which  seem  to  invite 
special  study  are  the  Aymara  and  the  Quiclma.  Of  these,  the 
latter  was  the  classical  language  of  South  America,  wherein, 
according  to  its  native  historians,  the  Peruvian  chroniclers  and 
poets  incorporated  the  national  legends.  It  may  be  described 
as  having  occupied  a  place  under  Inca  rule  analogous  to  that 
of  the  Norman  French  in  England  from  the  eleventh  to  the 
thirteenth  century.  To  those  ancient,  cultured  languages  of 
the  seats  of  an  indigenous  civilisation,  and  with  a  literature 
of  their  own,  attention  is  now  happily  directed.  The  students 
of  American  ethnology  begin  to  realise  that  the  buried  mounds 
of  Assyria  are  not  richer  in  discoveries  relative  to  the  ancient 
history  of  Asia  than  are  the  monuments,  the  hieroglyphic 
records,  and  the  languages  of  Central  America  and  Peru,  in 
relation  to  a  native  social  life  which  long  flourished  as  a  pro- 
duct of  their  own  West.  To  this  occidental  Assyria  we  have 
to  look  for  an  answer  to  many  inquiries,  especially  interesting 
to  the  intrusive  occupants  of  the  western  continent.  If  its 
architecture  and  sculpture,  and  the  hieroglyphic  records  wi^h 
which  they  are  enriched,  are  modifications  of  a  prehistoric 
Asiatic  civilisation,  it  is  here  that  the  evidence  is  to  be  looked 
for ;  and  if  the  arts  of  the  sculptor  and  architect  were  brought 
to  the  continent  of  America  by  wanderers  from  an  Asiatic 
fatherland,  then  those  of  the  potter  and  of  the  metallurgist  will 
also  prove  to  be  an  inheritance  from  the  old  Asiatic  hive  of 
the  nations. 

From  the  evidence  thus  far  adduced  it  appears  that  ethni- 
cally the  American  is  Mongol,  and  by  the  agglutinative 
element  in  mpny  of  the  native  languages  may  be  classed  as 
Turanian.       The  Finnic  hypothesis  of  Eask,  however  much 


m 


a6 


T//E  LOST  ATLANTIS 


modified  by  later  reconsideration  of  the  question  of  the  origin  of 
the  Aryans,  as  well  as  the  European  inelanochroic  Metis  of 
Huxley,  pertains  to  a  prehistoric  era  of  which  the  Finns  and 
the  Basques  are  assumed  to  be  survivals ;  and  to  that  elder 
era,  rather  than  to  any  date  within  the  remotest  limits  of 
authentic  history,  the  languages  of  America  seem  to  refer  us 
in  the  search  for  any  common  origin  with  those  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  But  a  zealous  comparative  philologist,  already 
referred  to,  has  sought  for  linguistic  traces  of  relationship 
between  the  Old  and  the  New  World  which,  if  confirmed, 
would  better  harmonise  with  the  traditions  of  intercourse 
between  the  maritime  nations  u^  the  eastern  Mediterranean 
and  a  continent  lying  outside  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  In 
his  investigations  he  aims  at  determining  the  relations  of  the 
Aztec  or  Nahuatl  culture  and  language  to  those  of  Asia. 
Humboldt  long  ago  claimed  for  much  of  the  former  an  Old 
"World  derivation.  It  seems  premature  to  attempt  to  deduc*^ 
any  comprehensive  results  from  the  meagre  data  thus  far 
gathered.  But  the  author  of  The  Khita  and  Khita- Peruvian 
Epoch,  in  tracing  the  progress  of  his  Suraerian  race,  assigns 
an  interval  of  4000  years  since  their  settlement  in 
Babylonia  and  India.  In  like  manner,  on  the  assumption  of 
their  migration  from  a  common  Asiatic  centre,  which  the 
division  of  Western  and  Eastern  Sumerian  in  pronouns  and 
other  details  is  thought  to  indicate,  Peru,  it  is  conceived,  may 
have  been  reached  by  a  migratory  wave  of  earlier  movement, 
from  4000  to  5000  years  ago.  Mr.  Hyde  Clarke  indeed 
conceives  that  it  is  quite  within  compass  that  the  same  great 
wave  of  migration  which  passed  over  India  and  Babylonia, 
continued  to  propagate  its  centrifugal  force,  and  that  by  its 
means  Peru  was  reached  within  the  last  3000  years. 
But,  whatever  intercourse  may  possibly  have  then  been  carried 
on  between  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  it  must  be  obvious, 
on  mature  reflection,  that  so  recent  a  date  for  the  peopling  of 
South  America  from  Asia  is  as  little  reconcilable  with  the  very 
remote  traces  of  linguistic  affinity  thus  far  adduced,  as  it  is 
with  any  fancied  relationship  with  a  lost  Atlantis  of  the  elder 
world.  The  enduring  affinities  of  long  -  parted  languages 
of  the  Old  World  tell  a  very  different  tale.  With  the 
comparative    philologist,    as    with    the    archaeologist,  time   is 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


87 


5  origin  of 

Metis  of 

Finns  and 

hat  elder 

limits  of 

)  refer  us 

le  eastern 

;,  already 

lationship 

jonfirmed, 

'tercourse 

terranean 

iiles.     In 

IS  of  the 

of  Asia. 

:  an  Old 

0  dedup*» 

thus   far 

Peruvian 

!,  assigns 

nent    in 

iption  of 

lich    the 

•uns  and 

red,  may 

3vement, 

indeed 

ne  great 

3ylonia, 

by  its 

years. 

carried 

obvious, 

jling  of 

he  very 

as  it  is 

le  elder 

iguages 

th    the 

time   is 


i 


more  and  more  coming  to  be  recognised  as  an  all-important 
factor. 

But,  leaving  the  estimate  of  centuries  out  of  consideration, 
in  the  researches  into  the  origin  of  the  peculiar  native  civilisa- 
tion of  America  here  referred  to,  the  recently  deciphered 
Akkad  is  accepted  as  the  typical  language  of  the  Sumerian 
class.  This  is  assumed  to  have  started  from  High  Asia,  and 
to  have  passed  on  to  Babylonia ;  while  another  branch  diffused 
itself  by  India  and  Indo-China,  and  thence,  by  way  of  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  reached  America.  Hence,  in  an  illus- 
trative table  of  Sumerian  words  arranged  under  four  heads,  as 
Western,  Indo-Chinese,  Peruvian,  and  Mexican,  etc.,  it  is  noted 
that  "  while  in  some  cases  a  root  may  be  traced  throughout,  it 
will  be  seen  that  more  commonly  the  western  and  American 
roots  or  types,  cross  in  the  Indo-Chinese  region."  But  another 
and  older  influence,  related  to  the  Agaw  of  the  Nile  region,  is 
also  traced  in  the  Guarani,  Omagua,  and  other  languages  of 
South  America,  indicating  evidences  of  more  remote  relations 
with  the  Old  World,  and  with  the  African  continent.  This  is 
supposed  to  have  been  displaced  by  a  Sumerian  migration  by 
which  the  Aymara  domination  was  established  in  Peru,  and 
the  Maya  element  introduced  into  Yucatan.  Those  movements 
are  assumed  to  belong  to  an  era  of  civilisation,  during  which 
the  maritime  enterprise  of  the  Pacific  may  have  been  carried 
on  upon  a  scale  unknown  to  the  most  adventurous  of  modem 
Malay  navigators,  notwithstanding  the  essentially  maritime 
character  by  which  the  race  is  still  distinguished.  All  this 
implies  that  the  highway  to  the  Pacific  was  familiar  to  both 
continents ;  and  hence  a  second  migration  is  recognised,  in 
certain  linguistic  relations,  between  the  Siamese  and  other 
languages  of  Indo-China,  and  the  Quichua  and  Aztec  of  Peru 
and  Mexico.  But  the  problem  of  the  origin  of  the  races  of 
the  western  continent,  and  of  the  sources  of  its  native  civilisa- 
tion, is  still  in  that  preliminary  stage  in  which  the  accumulation 
of  materials  on  which  future  induction  may  be  based  is  of 
more  value  than  the  most  comprehensive  generalisations. 

The  vastness  of  the  American  twin  continents,  with  their 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  seaboard  reaching  from  the  Arctic  well- 
nigh  to  the  Antarctic  circle,  furnishes  a  tempting  stimulus  to 
theories  of  migration  on  the  grandest  scale,  and  to  the  assump- 


28 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


tion  of  comprehensi' e  schemes  of  interuationnl  relation  in 
preliistoric  centuries.  lUit  they  are  not  more  substantial  than 
the  old  legend  of  Atlantis.  TI13  best  that  can  be  said  of  them 
is  that  here,  at  any  rate,  are  lines  of  research  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  which  American  ethnologists  may  employ  their  learning 
and  acumen  encouraged  by  the  hope  of  yet  revealing  a  past 
not  less  marvellous,  and  possessing  a  more  personal  interest, 
than  all  which  geology  has  recovered  from  the  testimony  of 
the  rocks.  But  before  such  can  be  more  than  dimly  guessed 
at,  the  patient  dilif'ence  of  many  students  will  be  needed  to 
accumulate  the  needful  materials.  Nor  can  we  afford  to  delay 
the  task.  The  Narraganset  Bible,  the  work  of  Eliot,  the 
apostle  of  the  Indians,  is  the  memorial  of  a  race  that  has 
perished ;  while  other  nations  and  languages  have  disappeared 
since  his  day,  with  no  such  invaluable  record  of  their  character. 
Mr.  Horatio  Hale  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  in  1883,  a  paper  on  the  "Tutelo  Tribe 
and  Language,"  derived  from  Nikonha,  the  last  survivor  of  a 
once  powerful  tribe  of  North  Carolina.  To  Dr.  Brinton,  we 
owe  the  recent  valuable  notes  on  the  Mangue,  another  extinct 
language.  On  the  North-western  Canadian  prairies  the  buffalo 
has  disappeared,  and  the  Indian  must  follow.  On  all  hands, 
we  are  called  upon  to  work  diligently  while  it  is  yet  time,  in 
order  to  accumulate  the  materials  out  of  which  the  history  of 
the  western  hemisphere  is  to  be  evolved. 

It  accords  with  the  idea  of  Polynesian  genealogy,  that 
indications  suggestive  of  grammatical  affinity  have  been  noted 
in  languages  of  South  America,  in  their  mode  of  expressing  the 
tense  of  the  verb;  in  the  formation  of  causative,  reciprocal, 
potential,  and  locative  verbs  by  affixes ;  and  in  the  general 
systei :  of  compound  word  structure.  The  incorporation  of  the 
particid  with  the  verbal  root,  appears  to  embody  the  germ  of 
the  more  comprehensive  American  holophrasms.  Such  affinities 
point  to  others  more  markedly  Asiatic ;  for  analogies  recognised 
between  the  languages  of  the  Deccan  and  those  of  the  Poly- 
nesian group  in  relation  to  the  determinative  significance  of 
the  formative  particles  on  the  verbal  root,  reappear  in  some  of 
the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  American  languages.  On  this 
subject,  the  Kev.  Eichard  Garnett  remarked,  in  a  communica- 
tion to  the  Philological  Society,  that  most  of  the  native  American 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


29 


relation    in 
iantial  than 
lid  of  them 
le  prosecu- 
3ir  learning 
;ing  a  past 
lal  interest, 
istimony  of 
ily  guessed 
needed  to 
rd  to  delay 
Eliot,  the 
B  that  has 
lisappeared 
'  character. 
'■  American 
itelo  Tribe 
vivor  of  a 
irinton,  we 
ler  extinct 
:he  buffalo 
all  hands, 
t  time,  in 
history  of 

ogy,  that 

een  noted 

ssing  the 

eciprocal, 

general 

on  of  the 

germ  of 

affinities 

^cognised 

le  Poly- 

icance  of 

some  of 

On  this 

imunica- 

imerican 


languages  of  which  we  have  definite  information,  bear  a  general 
analogy  alike  to  the  Polynesian  family  and  to  the  languages  of  the 
Deccan,  in  their  methods  of  distinguishing  the  various  modifi- 
cations of  time ;  and  he  adds  :  "  We  may  venture  to  aftirm,  in 
general  terms,  that  a  South  American  verb  is  constructed 
precisely  as  those  in  the  Tamul  and  other  languages  of 
Southern  India ;  consisting,  like  them,  of  a  verbal  root,  a 
second  element  defining  the  time  of  the  action,  and  a  third 
denoting  the  subject  or  person." 

So  far  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  evidence,  derived  alike 
from  language  and  from  other  sources,  points  to  the  isolation 
of  the  American  continent  through  unnumbered  ages.  The 
legend  of  the  lost  Atlantis  is  true  in  this,  if  in  nothirg  else, 
that  it  relegates  the  knowledge  of  the  world  beyond  the 
Atlantic,  by  the  maritime  races  of  the  Mediterranean,  to  a  time 
already  of  hoar  antiquity  in  the  age  of  Socrates,  or  oven  of 
Solon.  But  at  a  greatly  later  date  the  Caribbean  Sea  was 
scai'cely  more  a  mystery  to  the  dwellers  on  the  shores  of  the 
yEgean,  than  was  the  Baltic  or  the  North  Sea.  Herodotus, 
indeed,  expressly  affirms  his  disbelief  in  "  a  river,  called  by 
the  barbarians,  Eridanus,  which  flows  into  a  northern  sea,  and 
from  which  there  is  a  report  that  amber  is  wont  to  come." 
Nevertheless,  we  learn  from  him  of  Greek  traders  exchanging 
personal  ornaments  and  woven  stuffs  for  the  furs  and  amber  of 
the  North.  They  ascended  the  Dneiper  as  far  as  Gerrhos, 
a  trading  post,  forty  days'  journey  inland ;  and  the  tokens  of 
their  presence  there  have  been  recovered  in  modern  times. 
Not  only  hoards  of  Greek  coins,  minted  in  the  fifth  century 
B.C.,  but  older  golden  gryphons  of  Assyrian  workmanship  have 
been  recovered  during  the  present  century,  near  Bromberg  in 
Posen,  and  at  Kiev  on  the  Dneiper.  As  also,  afar  on  the  most 
northern  island  of  the  Azores,  hoards  of  Carthaginian  coins 
have  revealed  traces  of  the  old  Punic  voyager  there ;  if  still 
more  ancient  voyagers  from  Sidon,  Tyre,  or  Seleucia,  did  find 
their  way  in  some  forgotten  century  to  lands  that  lay  beyond 
the  waste  of  waters  which  seemed  to  engirdle  their  world : 
similar  evidence  may  yet  be  forthcoming  among  the  traces  of 
ancient  native  civilisation  in  Central  or  Southern  America. 

But  also  the  carving  of  names  and  dates,  and  other  graphic 
memorials  of  the  passing  wayfarer,  is  no  mere  modern  custom. 


r  ,  I 


30 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


m 


11 


"When  the  sites  of  Greenland  settlements  of  the  Northmen  of 
the  tenth  century  were  discovered  in  our  own  day,  the  runic 
inscriptions  left  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  former  presence 
there.  By  like  evidence  we  learn  of  them  in  southern  lanti^, 
from  their  runes  still  legible  on  the  marble  lion  of  the  Piraeus, 
since  transported  to  its  later  site  in  the  arsenal  of  Venice.  At 
Maeshowe  in  Orkney,  in  St.  Molio's  Cave  on  the  Clyde,  at 
Kirk  Michael  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  on  many  a  rock  and 
stone  by  the  Baltic,  the  sea-rovers  from  the  north  have  left 
enduring  evidence  of  their  wanderings.  So  was  it  with  the 
Eoman.  From  the  Moray  Frith  to  the  Libyan  desert,  and 
from  the  Iberian  shore  to  the  Syrian  valleys,  sepulchral, 
legionary,  and  mythological  inscriptions,  as  well  as  coins, 
medals,  pottery,  and  works  of  art,  mark  the  footprints  of  the 
masters  of  the  world.  In  Italy  itself  Perusinian,  Eugubine, 
Etruscan,  and  Greek  inscriptions  tell  the  story  of  a  succession 
of  races  in  that  beautiful  peninsula.  It  was  the  same,  through 
all  the  centuries  of  Hellenic  intellectual  rule,  back  to  the 
unrivalled  inscription  at  Abbu  Simbel.  This  was  cut,  says 
Dr.  Isaac  Taylor,^  "when  what  we  call  Greek  history  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  commenced :  two  hundred  years  before 
Herodotus,  the  Father  of  History,  had  composed  his  work ;  a 
century  before  Athens  began  to  rise  to  power.  More  ancient 
even  than  the  epoch  assigned  to  Solon,  Thales,  and  the  seven 
wise  men  of  Greece :  it  must  be  placed  in  the  half-legendary 
period  at  which  the  laws  of  Dracon  are  said  to  have  been 
enacted ; "  —  the  period,  in  fact,  from  which  the  legend  of 
Atlantis  was  professedly  derived.  Yet  there  the  graven 
characters  perpetuate  their  authentic  bit  of  history,  legible 
Co  this  day,  of  the  son  of  Theokles,  sailing  with  his  company 
up  the  Nile,  when  King  Psamatichos  came  to  Elephantina. 
So  it  is  with  Egyptians,  Assyrians,  Phoenicians,  and  with  the 
strange  forgotten  Hittites,  whose  vast  empire  has  vanished  out 
of  the  world's  memory.  The  lion  of  the  Pireeus,  with  its 
graven  runes,  is  a  thing  of  yesterday,  compared  with  the 
inscribed  lion  from  Marash,  with  its  Hittite  1  jroglyphs,  now 
in  the  museum  at  Constantinople;  for  the  Hittite  capital, 
Ketesh,  was  captured  by  the  Egyptian  Sethos,  B.C.  1340. 
All  but  the  name  of  this  onc3  powerful  people  seemed  to  have 

1  The  Alphabet,  ii.  10. 


I 


ill 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


31 


)rthmen  of 
the  runic 
ir  presence 
lern  lanuj, 
he  Piraeus, 
enice.    At 
Clyde,  at 
rock  and 
have  left 
i  with  the 
lesert,  and 
sepulchral, 
as    coins, 
Qts  of  the 
Eugubine, 
succession 
e,  through 
ck  to  the 
cut,  says 
:story  can 
jars  before 
J  work ;  a 
e  ancient 
the  seven 
legendary 
ave  been 
egend  of 
graven 
legible 
company 
phantina. 
with  the 
shed  out 
with  its 
vith  the 
phs,  now 
capital, 
1340. 
to  have 


perished.  Yet  the  inscribed  stones,  by  which  they  were  to  be 
restored  to  their  place  in  history,  remained,  awaiting  the  inter- 
pretation of  an  enlightened  age. 

If  then,  traces  of  the  lost  Atlantis  are  ever  to  be  recovered 
in  the  New  World,  it  must  be  by  some  indubitable  memorial 
of  d  like  kind.  Old  as  the  legend  may  be,  it  is  seen  that 
literal  graphic  memorials  —  Assyrian,  Phoenician,  Khita, 
Egyptian,  and  Greek, — still  remain  to  tell  of  times  oven  beyond 
the  epoch  assigned  to  Solon.  The  antiquaries  of  New  England 
have  sought  in  vain  for  runic  memorials  of  the  Northmen  of  the 
tenth  century ;  and  the  diligence  of  less  trustworthj'  explorers 
for  traces  of  ancient  records  has  been  stimulated  to  excess, 
throughout  the  North  American  continent,  with  results  little 
more  creditable  to  their  honesty  than  their  judgment.  What 
some  chance  disclosure  may  yet  reveal,  who  can  presume  to 
guess  ?  But  thus  far  it  appears  to  be  improbable  that  within 
tlie  area  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  evidences  of  the  presence 
of  Phoenician,  Greek,  or  other  ancient  historic  race  will  now  be 
found.  Certain  it  is  that,  whatever  transient  visits  may  have 
been  paid  to  North  America  by  representatives  of  Old  World 
progress,  no  long-matured  civilisation,  whether  of  native  or 
foreign  origin,  i>as  existed  there.  Through  all  the  centuries  of 
which  definite  history  has  anything  to  tell,  it  has  remained  a 
world  apart,  secure  in  its  isolation,  with  languages,  arts,  and 
customs  essentially  native  in  character.  The  nations  01  the 
Maya  stock  appear  to  have  made  the  greatest  progress  in 
civilisation  of  all  the  communities  of  Central  America.  They 
dwelt  in  cities  adorned  with  costly  structures  dedicated  to  the 
purposes  of  religion  and  the  state  ;  and  had  political  govern- 
ment, and  forms  of  social  organisation,  to  all  appearance,  the 
slorv  growth  of  many  generations.  They  had,  also,  a  well- 
matured  system  of  chronology ;  and  have  left  behind  them 
graven  and  written  records,  analogous  to  those  01  ancient  Egypt, 
which  still  await  decipherment.  Whether  this  culture  was 
purely  of  native  growth,  or  had  its  origin  from  the  germs  of  an 
Old- World  civilisation,  can  only  be  determined  when  its  secrets 
have  been  fully  mastered.  The  region  is  even  now  very 
partially  explored.  The  students  of  American  ethnology  and 
archaeology  are  only  awakening  to  some  adequate  sense  of  its 
importance.     But  thtre  appears  to  have  been  the  centre  of  a 


32 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


native  American  civilisation  whence  light  was  slowly  radiating 
on  either  hand,  before  the  vandals  of  the  Spanish  Conquest 
quenched  it  in  blood.  The  civilisation  of  Mexico  was  but  a 
borrowed  reflex  of  that  of  Central  America  ;  and  its  picture- 
writing  is  a  very  inferior  imitation  of  the  ideography  of  the 
Maya  hieroglyphics. 

A  tendency  manifests  itself  anew  to  trace  the  metallurgy, 
the  letters,  the  astronomical  science,  and  whatever  else  marks 
the  quickening  into  intellectual  life  of  this  American  leading 
race,  to  an  Asiatic  or  other  Old  World  origin.  The  point, 
however,  is  by  no  means  established  ;  nor  can  any  reason  be 
shown  why  the  human  intellect  might  not  be  started  on  the 
same  course  in  Central  America,  as  in  Mesopotamia  or  the 
valley  of  the  Nile.  If  we  assume  the  primary  settlement  of 
Central  America  by  expeditions  systematically  carried  on  under 
the  auspices  of  some  ancient  maritime  po  r^r  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, or  of  an  early  seat  of  Iberia;,  :  Lijyan  civilisation, 
then  they  would,  undoubtedly,  transplant  the  arts  of  their  old 
home  to  the  New  World.  But,  on  the  more  probable  sup- 
position of  wanderers,  either  by  the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific, 
being  landed  on  its  shores,  and  becoming  the  undesigned 
settlers  of  the  continent,  it  is  otherwise  ;  and  the  probabilities 
are  still  further  diminished  if  we  conceive  of  ocean  ■'wanderers 
from  island  to  island  of  the  Pacific,  at  length  reaching  the 
shores  of  the  remote  continent  after  the  traditions  of  their 
Asiatic  fatherland  had  faded  from  the  memory  of  later  gen- 
erations. The  condition  of  metallurgy  as  practised  by  the 
Mexicans  and  Peruvians  exhibited  none  of  the  matured  phases 
of  an  inheritance  from  remote  generations,  but  pn  ^<^\  cather 
of  the  tentative  characteristics  of  immature  nativ<? 

We  are  prone  to  overestimate  the  facilities  by  \i  '  'i  the 
arts  of  civilisation  may  be  transplanted  to  remote  regions.  It 
is  not  greatly  more  difficult  to  conceive  of  the  rediscovery  of 
some  of  the  essential  elements  of  human  progress  than  to 
believe  in  the  transference  of  them  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  hemisphere  by  wanderers  from  either  Europe  or  Asia. 
Take  the  average  type  of  emigrants,  such  as  are  annually  landed 
by  thousands  at  New  York.  They  come  from  the  most  civil- 
ised countries  of  Europe.  Yet,  how  few  among  them  all  could 
be  relied  upon  for  any  such  intelligent  comprehension  of  metal- 


IP 
ill 

ill 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


33 


netallurgy, 
else  marks 
an  leading 
The  point, 
reason  be 
ted  on  the 
lia  or  the 
tlement  of 
I  on  under 
}  Mediter- 
ivilisation, 
f  their  old 
)able  sup- 
ae  Pacific, 
ndesigned 
obabilities 
wanderers 
ching  the 

of  their 
ater  gen- 

by  the 
fid  phases 
rather 

'1  the 
ons.  It 
covery  of 

than  to 
n  to  the 

or  Asia, 
y  landed 
)st  civil- 
all  could 
)f  metal- 


luT<^y,  if  left  entirely  to  their  own  resources,  as  to  be  found 
able  to  turn  the  mineral  wealth  of  their  new  home  to  practical 
account ;    or  for  astronomical  science,  such  as  would  enable 
them  to  construct  a  calendar,  and  start  afresh  a  systematic 
chronology.      As  to  letters,  the  picture-writing  of  the  Aztecs 
was  the  same  in  principle  as  the  rude  art  of  the  northern 
Indians  ;  and  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  reason  for  rejecdng 
the  assumption  of  its  native  origin  as  an  intellectual  triumph 
acliieved  by  the  labours  of  many  generations.     Every  step  is 
still  traceable,  from  tlie  rude  picturings  on  the  Indian's  grave- 
post  or  rock  inscription,  to  the  systematic  ideographs   of  Pal- 
enque  or  Copan.     Hieroglyphics,  as  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
pictorial  representation,  must    always  have  a  general  family 
likeness ;    but    all    attempts    to    cormect    the    civilisation    of 
Central  and  Southern  America  with  that  of  Egypt  fail,  so  soon 
as  a  comparison  is  instituted  between  the  Egyptian  calendar 
and  any  of  the  native  American  systems  of  recording  dates  and 
computing  time.     The  vague  year  of  365  days,  and  the  cor- 
rected solar  year,  with  the  great  Sothic  Cycle  of  1460  years, 
so  intimately  interwoven  with  the  religious  system  and  histori- 
cal chronology  of  the  Egyptians,  abundantly  prove  the  correc- 
tion of  the  Egyptian  calendar  by  accumulated  experience,  at  a 
date  long  anterior  to  the  resort  of  the  Greek  astronomer,  Thales, 
to  Egypt.     At  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Aztecs  had 
learned  to  correct  their  calendar  to  solar  time ;  but  their  cycle 
was  one  of  only  fifty-two  years.     The  Peruvians  also  had  their 
recurrent  religious  festivals,  connected  with  the  adjustment  of 
their  sacred  calendar  to  solar  time  ;    but  the  geographical  posi- 
tion of  Peru,  with  Quito,  its  holy  city,  lying  immediately  under 
the  equator,  greatly  simplified  the  process  by  which  they  regu- 
lated their  religious  festivals  by  the  solstices  and  equinoxes. 
The  facilities  which  their  equatorial  position  afforded  for  deter- 
mining the  few  indispensable  periods  in  their  calendar  were, 
indeed,  a  doubtful  advantage,  for  they  removed  all  stinmlus  to 
progress.       The   Mexican    calendar  is   the   most    remarkable 
evidence  of  the  civilisation  attained  by  that  people.     Humboldt 
unhesitatingly  connected  it  with  the  ancient  science  of  south- 
eastern Asia.     But  instead  of  its  exhibiting  any  such  inevitable 
accumulation  of  error  as  that  which  gave  so  peculiar  a  charac- 
ter to  the  historical  chronology  of  the  Egyptians,  its  computa- 

D 


■'m-. 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


tion  differed  less  from  true  solar  time  than  the  unreformed 
Julian  calendar  which  the  Spaniards  had  inherited  from  pagan 
Eome.  But  though  this  suffices  to  show  that  the  civilisation 
of  Mexico  was  of  no  great  antiquity,  it  only  accoras  with  other 
evidence  of  its  borrowed  character.  The  Mexicans  stood  in 
the  same  relation  to  Central  America  as  the  Northern  Bar- 
barians of  the  third  and  fourth  century  did  to  Italy  ;  and  the 
intruding  Spaniard  nipped  their  germ  of  borrowed  civilisation 
in  the  bud.  So  long  as  the  search  for  evidences  either  of  a 
native  or  intruded  civilisation  is  limited  to  the  northern  con- 
tinent of  America,  it  is  equivalent  to  an  attempt  to  recover  the 
traces  of  Greek  and  Eoman  civilisation  in  transalpine  Europe. 
The  Mexican  calendar  stone  is  no  more  than  the  counterpart 
of  some  stray  Greek  or  Eoman  tablet  beyond  the  Alps  ;  or 
rather,  perhaps,  of  some  Msesogothic  product  of  borrowed 
art. 

"We  must  await,  then,  the  intelligent  exploration  of  Central 
America,  before  any  certain  conclusion  can  be  arrived  at  rela- 
tive to  the  story  of  the  New  World's  unknown  past.  On  the 
sculptured  tablets  of  I'alenque,  Quiriqua,  Chichenitza,  and 
Uxmal,  and  on  the  colossal  statues  at  Copan  and  other 
ancient  sites,  are  numerous  inscriptions  awaiting  the  decipher- 
ment of  the  future  Young  or  Champolion  of  American  palae- 
ography. The  whole  region  was  once  in  occupation  by  a 
lettered  race,  having  the  same  written  characters  and  a 
common  civilisation.  If  they  owed  to  some  apostle  from  the 
Mediterranean  the  grand  invention  of  letters,  which,  as  Bacon 
says,  "  as  ships,  pass  through  the  vast  seas  of  time,  and  make 
ages  so  distant  to  participate  of  the  wisdom,  illuminations  and 
inventions,  the  one  of  the  other : "  then,  we  may  confidently 
anticipate  the  recovery  of  some  graphic  memorial  of  the 
messenger,  confirming  the  oft-recurring  traditions  of  bearded 
white  men  who  came  from  beyond  the  sea,  introduced  the 
arts  of  civilisation,  and  were  reverenced  as  divine  benefactors. 
It  cannot  be  that  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Hittite,  Phoenician,  and 
other  most  ancient  races,  are  still  perpetuated  by  so  many 
traces  of  their  wanderings  in  the  Old  World ;  that  the  North- 
men's graphic  runes  have  placed  beyond  all  question  their 
pre-Columbian  explomtions ;  and  yet  that  not  a  single  trace 
of  Mediterranean  wanderers  to  the  lost  Atlantis  survives.     In 


A 

V 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


35 


unreformed 
from  pagan 
civilisation 
with  other 
13  stood  in 
•them  Bar- 
;  and  the 
civilisation 
either  of  a 
rthern  con- 
recover  the 
ine  Europe, 
counterpart 
e  Alps  ;  or 
f   borrowed 

L  of  Central 

^ed  at  rela- 

it.     On  the 

mitza,    and 

and    other 

e  decipher- 

rican  palse- 

ition   by  a 

rs    and    a 

e  from  the 

,  as  Bacon 

and  make 

lations  and 

confidently 

al    of    the 

of  bearded 

duced   the 

>enefactors. 

aician,  and 

so  many 

he  North- 

tion  their 

ngle  trace 

vives.     In 


Humboldt's  Researches,  a  fragment  of  a  reputed  Phoenician 
inscription  is  engraved.  It  was  copied  by  Eanson  Bueno,  a 
Franciscan  monk,  from  a  block  of  granite  which  he  discovered 
in  a  cavern  in  the  mountain  chain,  between  the  Orinoco  and 
the  Amazon.  Humboldt  recognised  in  it  some  resemblance  to 
the  Phcenician  alphabet.  We  must  remember,  however,  what 
rudely  traced  Phoenician  characters  are ;  and  as  to  their 
transcriber,  it  may  be  presumed  that  he  had  no  knowledge  of 
Phoenician.  Humboldt  says  of  him  :  "  The  good  monk  seemed 
to  be  but  little  interested  about  this  pretended  inscription," 
though,  he  adds,  he  had  copied  it  very  carefully. 

The  lost  Atlantis,  then,  lies  still  in  the  future.  The  earlier 
studies  of  the  monuments  and  prehistoric  remains  of  the 
American  continent  seemed  to  point  conclusively  to  a  native 
source  for  its  civilisation.  From  quipu  and  wampum,  pictured 
grave-post  and  buffalo  robe,  to  the  most  finished  hieroglyphs  of 
Copan  or  Palenque,  continuous  steps  appear  to  be  traceable 
whereby  American  man  developed  for  himself  the  same 
wondrous  invention  of  letters  which  ancient  legend  ascribed  to 
Thoth  or  Mercury ;  or,  in  less  mythic  form,  to  the  Phoenician 
Cadmus.  Nor  has  the  generally  accepted  assumption  of  a 
foreign  origin  for  American  metallurgy  been  placed  as  yet  on 
any  substantial  basis.  Gold,  as  I  believe,  was  everywhere  the 
first  metal  wrought.  The  bright  nugget  tempted  the  savage, 
with  whom  personal  ornaments  precede  dress.  It  was  r3adily 
fashioned  into  any  desired  shape.  The  same  is  true,  though 
in  a  less  degree,  of  copper ;  and  wherever,  as  on  the  American 
continent,  native  copper  abounds,  the  next  step  in  metallurgy 
is  to  be  anticipated.  With  the  discovery  of  the  economic  use 
of  the  metals,  an  all-important  step  had  been  achieved,  leading 
to  the  fashioning  of  useful  tools,  to  architecture,  sculpture, 
pictorial  ornamentation,  and  so  to  ideography.  The  facilities 
for  all  this  were,  at  least,  as  abundant  in  Central  and  Southern 
America  as  in  Egypt.  The  progress  was,  doubtless,  slow  ;  but 
when  the  Neolithic  age  began  to  yield  to  that  of  the  metallur- 
gist, the  all-important  step  had  been  taken.  The  history  of 
this  first  step  is  embodied  in  myths  of  the  New  World,  no  less 
than  of  the  Old.  Tubal-cain,  Daedalus,  Hephaestus,  Vulcan, 
Voelund,  Galant,  and  Wayland  the  Saxon  smith-god,  are  all 


|t":'!|!T 


36 


THE  LOST  ATLANTIS 


I,    :  .111 


m 


I 

mm 


legendary  variations  of  the  first  mastery  of  the  use  of  the 
metals ;  and  so,  too,  the  New  World  has  Quetzaleoatl,  its  divine 
instructor  in  the  same  priceless  art. 

It  forms  one  of  the  indisputable  facts  of  ancient  history 
that,  long  before  Greece  became  the  world's  intellectual  leader, 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  was  settled  by  maritime  races 
whose  adventurous  enterprise  led  them  to  navigate  the  Atlan- 
tic. There  was  no  greater  impediment  to  such  adventurous 
mariners  crossing  that  ocean  in  earliest  centuries  before  Christ, 
than  at  any  subsequent  date  prior  to  the  revival  of  navigation 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  It  would  not,  therefore,  in  any 
degree,  surprise  me  to  learn  of  the  discovery  of  a  genuine 
Phoenician,  or  other  inscription ;  or,  of  some  hoard  of  Assyrian 
gryphons,  or  shekels  of  the  merchant  princes  of  Tyre  "  that 
had  knowledge  of  the  sea,"  being  recovered  among  the  still 
unexplored  treasures  of  the  buried  empire  of  Montezuma,  or 
the  long-deserted  ruins  of  Central  America.  Such  a  discovery 
would  scarcely  be  more  surprising  than  that  of  the  Punic 
hoards  found  at  Corvo,  the  most  westerly  island  of  the  Azores. 
Yet  it  would  furnish  a  substantial  basis  for  the  legend  of 
Atlantis,  akin  to  that  which  the  runic  monuments  of  Kingik- 
torsoak  and  Igalikko  supplied  in  confirmation  of  the  fabled 
charms  0^  a  Hesperian  region  lying  within  the  Arctic  circle ; 
and  of  the  first  actual  glimpses  of  the  American  mainland  by 
Norse  voyagers  of  the  tenth  century,  as  told  in  more  than  one 
of  their  old  Sagas.  But  until  such  evidence  is  forthcoming, 
the  legendary  Atlantis  must  remain  a  myth,  and  pre-Colum- 
bian America  be  still  credited  with  a  self-achieved  progress. 


use  of  the 
;1,  its  divine 


ent  history 
itual  leader, 
itime  races 

the  Atlan- 
idventurous 
fore  Christ, 
'  navigation 
)re,  in  any 

a  genuine 
of  Assyrian 
Tyre  "  that 
ig  the  still 
ntezuma,  or 
a  discovery 

the  Punic 

the  Azores. 

!  legend  of 

of  Kingik- 

the  fabled 
ctic  circle ; 
lainland  by 
re  than  one 
arthcoming, 
pre-Colum- 


II 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NOPtTHMEN 

The  idea  that  the  western  hemisphere  was  known  to  the  Old 
"World,  prior  to  the  ever-memorable  voyage  of  Columbus  four 
centuries  ago,  has  reproduced  itself  in  varying  phases,  not  only 
in  the  venerable  Greek  legend  of  the  lost  Atlantis ;  and  the 
still  vaguer  myth  of  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides  on  the  far 
ocean  horizon,  the  region  of  the  setting  sun ;  but  in  mediaeval 
fancies  and  mythical  epics.  The  Breton,  in  The  Earthly 
Paradise  of  William  Morris — 

Spoke  of  gardens  ever  blossoming 
Across  the  western  sea,  where  none  grew  old, 
E'en  as  the  books  at  Micklegarth  had  told  ; 
And  said  moreover  that  an  English  knight 
Had  had  the  Earthly  Paradise  in  sight  ; 
And  heard  the  songs  of  those  that  dwelt  therein  ; 
But  entered  not ;  being  hindered  by  his  sin. 

A  legend  of  mediaeval  hagiology  tells  of  the  Island  of  St. 
Brandon,  the  retreat  of  an  Irish  hermit  of  the  sixth  century. 
Another  tale  com-^s  down  to  us  from  the  time  of  the  Caliph 
"Walid,  and  the  invincible  Musa,  of  the  "  Seven  Islands " 
whither  the  Christians  of  Gothic  Spain  fled  under  the 
guidance  of  their  seven  bishops,  when,  in  the  eighth  century, 
the  peninsula  passed  under  the  yoke  of  the  victorious  Saracens. 
The  Eyrbijggja  Saga  has  a  romantic  story  of  Biorn  Ashbrands- 
son,  who  narrowly  escapes  in  a  tempest  raised  by  his  enemy, 
with  the  aid  of  one  skilled  in  the  black  art.  After  under- 
going many  surprising  adventures,  he  is  finally  discovered  by 
voyagers,  "in  the  latter  days  of  Olaf  the  Saint,"  in  a  strange 
land  beyond  the  ocean,  the  chief  of  a  warlike  race  speaking  a 


r 


w. 


38 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


%^ 


language  that  seemed  to  be  Irish.  Biorn  warned  the  voyagers 
to  depart,  for  the  people  had  evil  designs  against  them.  But 
before  they  sailed,  he  took  a  gold  ring  from  his  hand,  and  gave 
it  to  Gudleif,  their  leader,  along  with  a  goodly  sword ;  and 
commissioned  him  to  give  the  sword  to  Kiartan,  the  son  of 
Thurid,  wife  of  an  Iceland  thane  at  Froda,  of  whom  he  had 
been  enamoured;  and  the  gold  liiig  to  his  mother.  This  done, 
he  warned  them  that  no  man  venture  to  renew  the  search  for 
what  later  commentators  refer  to  as  White  Man's  Land.  In 
equally  vague  form  the  fancy  of  lands  beyond  the  ocean  per- 
petuated itself  in  an  imaginary  island  of  Brazil  that  flitted 
about  the  charts  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  with 
ever-varying  site  and  proportions,  till  it  vanished  in  the  light 
of  modern  exploration. 

A  more  definite  character  has  been  given  to  the  tale  of 
Madoc,  a  Welsh  prince  of  the  twelfth  century.  Southey  wove 
into  an  elaborate  epic  this  legend  of  the  son  of  Owen  Gwyneth, 
king  of  North  Wales,  who,  circa  A.D.  1170,  sailed  into  the 
unknown  west  in  search  of  a  resting-place  beyond  reach  of  his 
brother  Yorwerth,  then  ridding  himself  of  all  rivals  to  the 
throne.  He  found  a  home  in  the  New  World,  returned  to 
Wales  for  additional  colonists  to  join  the  pioneer  band  ;  and 
setting  sail  with  them,  vanished  beyond  the  western  horizon, 
and  was  heard  of  no  more.  The  poet,  while  adapting  it  to  the 
purpose  of  his  art,  was  not  without  faith  in  the  genuineness  of 
the  legend  which  he  amplified  into  his  epic ;  and  notes  in  the 
preface  appended  to  it :  "  Strong  evidence  has  been  adduced 
that  he  (Prince  Madoc)  reached  America;  and  that  his 
posterity  exist  there  to  this  day  on  the  southern  branch  of  the 
Missouri,  retaining  their  complexion,  their  language,  and  in 
some  degree,  their  arts."  But  later  explorations  have  failed  to 
discover  any  "  Welsh  Indians "  on  the  Missouri  or  its  tribu- 
taries. 

A  small  grain  of  fact  will  suffice  at  times  for  the  crystal- 
lisation of  vague  and  visionary  fancies  into  a  well-credited 
tradition.  Before  the  printing  press  came  into  play,  with  its 
perpetuation  of  definite  records,  and  prosaic  sifting  of  evidence, 
this  was  no  uncommon  occurrence ;  but  even  in  recent  times 
fancy  may  be  seen  transmuted  into  accepted  fact. 

When  exploring  the  great  earthworks  of  the  Ohio  valley, 


THE   VISLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


39 


le  voyagers 
era.  But 
i,  and  gave 
word ;  and 
the  son  of 
>m  he  had 
This  done, 
search  for 
Land.  In 
ocean  per- 
hat  flitted 
turies  with 
I  the  light 

ihe  tale  of 

ithey  wove 

Gwyneth, 

1  into  the 

iach  of  his 

lis  to  the 

jturned  to 

)and  ;  and 

horizon, 

it  to  the 

ineness  of 

tes  in  the 

adduced 

that    his 

ch  of  the 

and   in 

failed  to 

ts  tribu- 

crystal- 
credited 
with  its 
jvidence, 
nt  times 

»  valley, 


in  1874,  1  found  myself  on  one  occasion  in  a  large  Welsh 
settlement,  a  few  miles  from  Newark,  where  a  generation  of 
native-born  Americans  still  perpetuate  the  language  of  their 
Cymric  forefathers,  and  conduct  their  religious  se»-vices  in 
the  Welsh  tongue.  My  attention  was  first  called  to  this  by 
the  farmer,  who  had  invited  me  to  an  early  dinner  after  a 
morning's  digging  in  a  mound  on  "  The  Evan's  Farm,"  preced- 
ing our  repast  with  a  long  Welsh  grace.  From  him  I  learned 
that  the  district  had  been  settled  in  1802  by  a  Welsh 
colony ;  and  that  in  two  churches  in  neighbouring  valleys — 
one  Calvinistic  Congregational  and  another  Methodist, — the 
entire  services  are  still  conducted  in  their  mother  tongue. 
Such  a  perpetuation  of  the  language  and  traditions  of  the 
race,  in  a  quiet  rural  district,  only  required  time  and  the 
confusion  of  dates  and  genealogies  by  younger  generations, 
to  have  engrafted  the  story  of  Prince  Madoc  on  the  sub- 
stantial basis  of  a  genuine  Welsh  settlement.  Southey's  epic 
was  published  in  1805,  within  three  years  after  this  Welsh 
immigration  to  the  Ohio  valley.  The  subject  of  the  poem 
naturally  gave  it  a  special  attraction  for  American  readers ; 
and  it  was  speedily  reprinted  in  the  United  States,  doubtless 
with  the  same  indiffersnce  to  the  author's  claim  of  copyright  as 
long  continued  to  characterise  the  ideas  of  literary  hies  beyond 
the  Atlantic.  But  the  idea  of  a  Welsh  Columbus  of  the 
twelfth  century  was  by  no  means  received  with  universal  favour 
there.  Southey  quoted  at  a  long-subsequent  date  a  critical 
pamphleteer  who  denounced  the  author  of  Madoc  as  having 
"  meditated  a  most  serious  injury  against  the  reputation  of 
the  New  World  by  attributing  its  discovery  and  colonisation 
to  a  vagabond  Welsh  prince ;  this  being  a  most  insidious 
attempt  against  the  honour  of  America,  and  the  reputation  of 
Columbus"! 

It  is  inevitable  that  America  should  look  back  to  the  Old 
World  when  in  search  of  some  elements  of  civilisation,  and 
for  the  diversities  of  race  and  language  traceable  throughout 
the  western  hemisphere.  The  early  students  of  the  sculp- 
tured monuments  and  hieroglyphic  records  of  Mexico,  Central 
America,  and  Peru,  naturally  turned  to  Egypt  as  their 
probable  source ;  though  mature  reflection  has  dissipated  much 
of  the  reasoning  based  on  superficial  analogies.     The  grada- 


i     , 


40 


THE   V INLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


■1: 

■  1 

if 


iH  ,       . 


tions  from  the  most  primitive  picture-writiiiy  of  the  Indian 
savage  to  ideography  and  abbreviated  symbolism,  are  so 
clearly  traceable  in  the  various  stages  of  progress,  from  the 
rude  forest  tribes  to  the  native  centres  of  civilisation  in 
Central  and  Southern  America,  that  no  necessity  remains  for 
assuming  any  foreign  source  for  their  origin. 

That  the  world  beyond  the  Atlantic  had  remained  through 
unnumbered  centuries  apart  from  Europe  and  the  old  East, 
until  that  memorable  year  1492,  is  indisputable  ;  and  there 
was  at  one  time  a  disposition  to  resent  any  rivalry  with  the 
grand  triumph  of  Columbus  ;  as  though  patriotic  spirit  and 
national  pride  demanded  an  unquestioning  faith  in  that  as  the 
sole  link  that  bound  America  to  the  Old  World.  But  the 
same  spirit  stimulated  other  nations  to  claim  precedence  of 
Spain  and  the  great  Genoese ;  and  for  this  the  Scandinavian 
colonists  of  Iceland  had  every  probability  in  their  favour. 
They  had  navigated  the  Arctic  Ocean  with  no  other  compass 
than  the  stars;  and  the  publication  in  1845,  by  the  Danish 
antiquaries,  of  the  GrenlamU  Histoviske  Mindesmmrker  re- 
called minute  details  of  their  settlements  in  the  inhospitable 
region  of  the  western  hemisphere  to  wliich  they  gave  the 
strange  misnomer  of  Greenland.  But  the  year  1837  may 
be  regarded  as  marking  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  ante- 
Columbian  research.  The  issue  in  that  earlier  year  of  the 
Antiquitates  Arturicance,  sive  scriptores  septenirionales  rerum 
ante-Golumhiarum  in  America,  by  the  Eoyal  Society  of  North- 
em  Antiquaries,  under  the  editorship  of  Professor  Charles 
Christian  Eafn,  produced  a  revolution,  alike  in  the  form  and 
the  reception  of  illustrations  of  ante-Columbian  American 
history.  The  publication  of  that  work  gave  a  fresh  interest 
to  the  vaguest  intimations  of  a  dubious  past ;  while  it  super- 
seded them  by  tangible  disclosures,  which,  though  modern  in 
comparison  with  such  mythic  antiquities  as  the  Atlantis  of 
Plato's  Dialogues,  nevertheless  added  some  five  centuries  to 
the  history  of  the  New  World.  From  its  appearance,  accord- 
ingly, may  be  dated  the  systematic  aim  of  American  anti- 
quaries and  historians  to  find  evidence  of  intercourse  with  the 
ancient  world  prior  to  the  fifteenth  century. 

This  influence  became  manifest  in  all  ways ;  and  abundant 
traces  of  the  novel  idea  are  to  be  found  in  the  popular  litera- 


THE   VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


41 


;d  through 
old  East, 
and  there 
'  with  tlie 
spirit  and 
hat  as  the 
But  the 
iedence  of 
indinavian 
ir  favour, 
r  compass 
he  Danish 
nRvlier    re- 
hospitable 
gave  the 
837   may 
of    ante- 
ir  of  the 
'es   rerum 
Df  North- 
Charles 
form  and 
American 
1  interest 
it  super- 
lodern  in 
lantis  of 
Juries  to 
I,  accord- 
;an  anti- 
with  the 

ibundant 
ir  litera- 


ture  of  the  time.  It  seemed  as  though  the  adventurous  spirit 
of  the  early  Greenland  explorers  had  revived,  as  in  the  days 
of  the  first  Vinlanders,  as  told  in  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Red  : 
"  About  this  time  there  began  to  be  much  talk  at  Brattahlid, 
to  the  eftect  that  Vinland  the  (lood  uhould  be  explored  ;  for  it 
was  said  that  country  must  be  possessed  of  many  good 
qualities.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  Karlsefne  and  Snorri 
fitted  out  their  ship  for  the  purpose  of  going  in  search  of  that 
country."  Only  the  modern  Vinlanders  who  follow  in  their 
wake  have  had  for  their  problem  to — 

Sail  up  the  current  of  departed  time 
And  seek  along  ita  banks  that  vanished  clime 
By  ancient  Scalds  in  Runic  verse  renowned, 
Now,  like  old  Babylon,  no  longer  found.  ^ 

The  indomitable  race  that  emerged  from  the  Scandinavian 
peninsula,  and  the  islands  and  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and  over- 
ran and  conquered  the  deserted  Roman  world,  supplied  the 
maritime  energy  of  Europe  from  the  fifth  to  the  tenth 
century;  and  colonised  northern  Italy  with  the  element  to 
which  we  must  assign  the  rise  of  its  great  maritime  republics, 
including  the  one  that  was  to  furnish  the  discoverer  of 
America  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Genoese  and  Spaniards 
could  not  have  made  for  themselves  a  home  either  in  Green- 
land or  Iceland.  Had  the  Northmen  of  the  tenth  century 
been  less  hardy,  they  would  probably  have  prosecuted  their 
discoveries,  and  found  more  genial  settlements,  such  as  have 
since  then  proved  the  centres  of  colonisation  for  the  Anglo- 
American  race.  But  of  their  actual  discovery  of  some  portion 
of  the  mainland  of  North  America,  prior  to  the  eleventh 
century,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  The  wonder 
rather  is  that  after  establishing  permanent  settlements  both  in 
Iceland  and  Greenland,  their  southern  e::plorations  were  pro- 
secuted with  such  partial  and  transient  results.  The  indomit- 
able Vikings  were  conquering  fresh  territories  on  the  coasts 
and  islands  of  the  North  Sea,  and  giving  a  new  name  to  the 
fairest  region  of  northern  Gaul  wrested  by  the  Northmen  from 
its  Frank  conquerors.  The  same  hardy  supplanters  were 
following  up  such  acquisitions  by  expeditions  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean that  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  their  supremacy 

^  Montgomery,  Greenland,  Canto  IV. 


r 


l;:'l: 


if  j' 


II  M'll 


■:|!' 


43 


TT/iS:  VLMLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


over  ancient  liistoric  races  there,  and  train inj^  leaders  for  later 
crusading  adventure. 

The  voyage  from  Greenland,  or  even  from  Iceland,  to  the 
New  England  shores  was  not  more  difficult  than  from  the 
native  fiords  of  the  Northmen  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  or  to 
the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  Everywhere 
they  left  their  record  in  graven  runes.  At  Maeshowe  in  the 
Orkneys,  on  Holy  Island  in  the  Frith  of  Clyde,  and  at  Kirk 
Michael,  Kirk  Andreas,  and  Kirk  Braddon,  on  the  Isle  of 
Man ;  or  as  the  relic  of  a  more  ancient  past,  on  the  marble 
lion  of  the  Pirteus,  now  at  the  arsenal  of  Venice  :  their  runic 
records  are  to  be  seen  graven  in  the  same  characters  as  those 
which  have  been  recovered  during  the  present  century  from 
their  early  settlements  beyond  the  Atlantic.  Numerous 
similar  inscriptions  from  the  homes  of  the  Northmen  are  fur- 
nished in  Professor  George  Stephens'  Old  Northern  Runic 
Monuments,  which  perpetuate  memorials  of  the  love  of 
adventure  of  those  daring  rovers,  and  the  pride  they  took  in 
their  expeditions  to  remote  and  strange  lands.  Intensified  at 
a  later  stage  by  religious  fervour,  the  sp  t  spirit  emboldened 
them  as  leaders  in  the  Crusades;  a?  me  of  their  runic 
inscriptions  tell  of  adventurous  pilgrimaj^es  to  the  Holy  Land. 
An  Icelandic  rover  is  designated  on  his  rune-stone  Bafn 
Hlmrckfari  as  a  successful  voyager  to  Ireland.  Norwegian 
and  Danish  bautastein  frequently  preserve  the  epithet  of 
Englandsfari  for  the  leaders  of  expeditions  to  the  British 
Isles,  or  more  vaguely  refer  to  their  adventures  in  "  the 
western  parts."  King  Sigurd  of  Norway  proudly  blazoned  the 
title  of  Jdrsolafari  as  one  who  had  achieved  the  pilgrimage  to 
Jerusalem  ;  and  the  literate  memorials  of  the  Northmen  of 
Orkney,  recovered  in  1861,  on  the  opening  of  the  famous 
Maeshowe  Tumulus,  include  those  of  a  band  of  Crusaders,  or 
Jerusalem-farers,  who,  in  1153,  followed  Earl  Ragnvald  to  the 
Holy  Land. 

The  inscribed  rune-stones  brought  from  the  sites  of  the 
ancient  Norse  colonies  in  Greenland,  and  now  deposited  in 
the  Royal  Museum  of  Northern  Antiquities,  at  Copenhagen, 
are  simple  personal  or  sepulchral  inscriptions.  But  they  are 
graven  in  the  northern  runes,  and  as  such  constitute 
monuments  of  great  historical  value  :  furnishing  indisputable 


,,,    3 


ruifffi!! 


.31 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


43 


s  for  later 

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e  Isle  of 
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iboldened 
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)ly  Land, 
ne  Rafn 
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imen  of 

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evidence  of  the  presence  of  European  colonists  beyond  the 
Atlantic  centuries  before  that  memorable  1 2th  of  October 
1492,  on  wliich  the  eyes  of  the  wistful  gazers  from  the  deck 
of  the  "  Santa  Maria  "  were  gladdened  with  their  first  glimpse 
of  what  they  believed  to  be  the  India  of  the  far  east :  the 
Cipango  in  search  of  which  they  had  entered  on  their  adven- 
turous voyage. 

The  colonies  of  Greenland,  after  being  occupied,  according 
to  Norwegian  and  Danish  tradition,  from  the  tenth  to  the 
fifteenth  century,  were  entirely  forgotten.  The  colonists  are 
believed  to  have  been  exterminated  by  the  native  Eskimo. 
The  very  locality  chosen  for  their  settlements  was  so  com- 
pletely lost  sight  of  that,  when  an  interenc  in  their  history 
revived,  and  expeditions  were  sent  out  to  revisit  the  scene  of 
early  Norse  colon  sation  beyond  the  Atlantic,  much  time  was 
lost  in  a  fruitless  search  on  the  coast  lying  directly  west  from 
Iceland.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  an 
oar  drifted  to  the  Iceland  coast,  a  relic,  as  was  believed,  of 
the  long-lost  colony  of  reenland,  bearing  this  inscription  in 
runic  characters  :  oft  \  Ait  ek  dasa  dur  ek  dro  thick — Oft 
was  I  weary  when  I  drew  thee ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  close 
of  the  century  that  the  traditions  of  the  old  Greenlanders 
began  to  excite  attention.  Many  a  Norse  legend  pictured  the 
enviable  delights  of  the  fabled  Hesperian  region  discovered 
within  the  Arctic  circle,  yet  meriting  by  the  luxuriance  of  its 
fertile  valleys  its  name  of  Greenland ;  and  the  fancies  and 
legendary  traditions  that  gradually  displaced  the  history  of 
the  old  colony,  had  been  interwoven  by  the  poet  Montgomery 
with  the  tale  of  self-sacrificing  labours  of  Moravian  Mission- 
aries, in  the  cantos  of  his  Greenland  epic,  long  before  the 
Antiquitates  Americance  issued  from  the  Copenhagen  press. 

The  narrations  of  ancient  voyagers,  and  their  explorations 
in  the  New  World,  as  brought  to  light  in  1835  by  the 
Copenhagen  volume  on  pre-Columbian  America,  were  too 
truthful  in  their  aspect  to  be  slighted  ;  and  too  fascinating  in 
their  revelations  of  a  long-forgotten  intercourse  between  the 
Old  World  and  the  New,  to  be  willingly  subjected  to  incredu- 
lous analysis.  From  the  genuine  literary  memorials  of  older 
centuries,  sufficient  evidence  could  be  gleaned  to  place  beyond 
question,  not  only  the  discovery  and  colonisation  of  Greenland 


m 


:i      J! 


44 


THE   FINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


vk    I.  :ii 


by  Eric  the  Ketl, — apparently  in  the  year  985, — but  also  the 
exploration  of  southern  lands,  some  of  which  must  have 
formed  part  of  the  American  continent.  The  manuscripts 
whence  those  narratives  are  derived  are  of  various  dates,  and 
differ  v/idely  in  value ;  but  of  the  genuineness  and  historical 
significance  of  the  oldest  of  them,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained. 
The  accounts  which  some  of  them  furnish  are  so  simple,  and 
devoid  of  anything  extravagant  or  improbable,  that  the 
internal  evidence  of  truthfulness  is  worthy  of  great  considera- 
tion. The  exuberant  fancy  of  the  Northmen,  which  revels  in 
their  mythology  and  songs,  would  have  constructed  a  very 
different  tale  had  it  been  employed  in  the  invention  of  a 
southern  continent,  or  earthly  Paradise  fashioned  from  the 
dreams  of  Icelandic  and  Greenland  rovers. 

The  narrative  attaches  itself  to  genuine  Icelandic  history ; 
and  furnishes  a  coherent,  and  seemingly  unexaggerated  account 
of  a  voyage  characterised  by  nothing  that  is  supernatural ; 
and  litule  that  is  even  romantic.  Eric  Thorvaldsson,  more 
commonly  referred  to  as  Erikr  Eauthi,  or  Eric  the  Eed,  a 
banished  Icelandic  jarl,  made  his  way  to  the  Greenland  coast 
and  effected  a  settlement  at  Igalikko,  or  Brattalid,  as  it  was 
at  first  called,  from  whence  one  of  the  runic  inscriptions  now 
in  the  Copenhagen  museum  was  taken.  Before  the  close  of 
the  century,  if  not  in  the  very  year  a.d.  1000,  in  which  St. 
Olaf  was  introducing  Christianity  into  Norway,  L  ^'f,  or  Leiv 
Ericson,  a  son  of  the  first  coloniser  of  Greenland,  appears  to 
have  accidentally  discovered  the  American  mainland.  The 
story,  cuiTent  in  Norwegian  and  Icelandic  tradition,  and 
repeated  with  additions  and  variations  in  successive  Sagas, 
most  frequently  ascribes  to  Leif  an  actual  exploratory  voyage 
in  quest  of  southern  lands  already  reportc  x  to  have  been  seen 
by  Bjarni  Herjulfson.  But  the  Sagas  from  vhence  the 
revived  story  of  Vinland  is  derived  are  of  different  dates,  and 
very  varying  degrees  of  credibility.  Of  those,  the  narrative  in 
which  the,  name  of  Bjarni  Herjulfson  first  appears  occurs  in  a 
manuscript  of  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century ;  and 
exhibits  both  amplifications  and  inconsistencies  abundantly 
justifying  its  rejection  as  an  authority  for  depriving  Leif  Eric- 
son  of  the  honour  of  the  discovery  of  the  North  American 
contiuent.     He  was  on  his  way  from  Norway  to  Greenland 


r 


^^^ : — ^ 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


45 


ut  also  the 
nust  have 
lanuscripts 
dates,  and 
I  historical 
ntertained. 
imple,  and 

that  the 
considera- 

revels  in 
ed  a  very 
ition  of  a 

from  the 

ic  history ; 

Bd  account 

>ematural ; 

ison,  more 

he  Eed,  a 

land  coast 

as  it  was 

)tions  now 

le  close  of 

which  St. 

f,  or  Leiv 

ppears  to 

ind.     The 

tion,   and 

ve   Sagas, 

ry  voyage 

3een  seen 

lence   the 

ates,  and 

rrative  in 

curs  in  a 


>'^ 


when  he  was  driven  out  of  his  course,  and  so  reached  the 
mainland  of  the  New  World  in  that  early  century ;  even  as, 
five   centuries   later,   the   Tortuguese  admiral,  Pedro  Alvarez 
Cabral,  when  on  his  way  to  the  Cape,  was  driven  westward  to 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  so  to  the  discovery  of  the  southern 
continent.     For  later  generations  the  tale  of  the  old  Vinland 
explorers — whose  goodly  land  of  the  vine,  and  of  fertile  meads 
of  grain,  had  faded  away  as  a  dream, — naturally  gathered  around 
it  exaggerations  and  legendary  fahle ;    but    such    terms    are 
wholly  inapplicable  to  the  original  Saga.     The  story  of  Thor- 
finu's  expedition  to  effect  a  settlement  on  the  new-found  land, 
within  three  or  four  years  after  Leif  Ericson's  reported  dis- 
covery, is  a  simple,  consistent  narrative,  rendered  attractive  by 
natural  and  highly  suggestive  incidents,  but  entirely  free  from 
mythical  or  legendary  features.     This  is  obviously  the  basis 
of  the  varying  and  inconsistent  tales  of  later  Sagas.     The  year 
1003  is  the  date  assigned  to  the  expedition  in  which  Thorfinn 
set  out,   with   three  ships    and    a    considerable  company   of 
adventurers,  and  effected  a  temporary  settlement  of  Vinland. 
Voyaging  southward,  he  first  landed  on  a  barren  coast  where 
a  great  plain  covered  with  flat  stones  stretched  from  the  sea 
to  a  lofty  range  of  ice-clad  mountains.     To  this  he  gave  the 
name   of  Helluland,   from   hdla,  a  flat  stone.      The   earlier 
editor,  having  the  requirements  of  his  main  theory  in  view, 
found  in  its  characteristics  evidence  sufficient  to  identify  it 
with    Newfoundland ;    but    Professor    Gustav    Storm    assigns 
reasons  for  preferring  Labrador  as  more  probable.  ^     The  next 
point   touched    presented    a    low    shore  of  white   sand,  and 
beyond  it  a  level  country  covered  with  forest,  to  which  the 
name  of  Markland,  or  woodland,  was  given.     This,  which,  so 
far  as  the  description  can  guide  us,  might  be  anywhere  on  the 
American  coast,  was  assumed  by  the  editor  of  the  Antiqui- 
tates   Americancn    to    be     Nova    Scotia  ;    but,    according    to 
Professor  Storm,  can  have  been  no  other  country  than  New- 
foundland.    Tlie  voyagei-s,  after  two  more  days  at  sea,  again 
saw  land  ;  and  of  this  the  characteristic  that  the  dew  upon 
the  grass  tasted  sweet,  was  accepttd  as  sufficient  evidence  that 
Nantucket,  where  honey-dew  abounds,  is  the  place  referred  to. 
Their  further  course  shoreward,  and  up  a  river  into  the  lake 
1  Mem.  des  Antiq.  du  Nord,'  N.S.,  1888,  p.  341. 


':# 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


siiiP 


,iii;! 


i!|f 


r!"' 

m 


from  which  it  flowed,  has  been  assumed  to  havf  been  up  the 
Pacasset  Eiver  to  Mount  Hope  Bay.  There  the  voyagers 
passed  the  winter.  After  erecting  temporary  booths,  tlieir 
leader  divided  them  into  two  parties,  which  alternately  pro- 
ceeded on  exploring  excursions.  One  of  his  followers,  a 
southerner, — sudrmadr,  or  German,  as  he  is  assumed  to  have 
been,  —  having  wandered,  he  reported  on  his  return  the 
discovery  of  wine-trees  and  grapes  ;  and  hence  the  name  of 
Vine-land,  given  to  the  locality. 

This  land  of  the  vine,  discovered  by  ancient  voyagers  on 
the  shores  of  the  New  World,  naturally  awakened  the  liveliest 
interest  in  the  minds  of  American  antiquaries  and  historical 
students ;  nor  is  that  interest  even  now  wholly  a  thing  of  the 
past.  Is  this  "  Vinland  the  Good "  a  reality  ?  Can  it  be 
located  on  any  definite  site  ?  Montgomery's  Greenland 
epic  was  published  in  1819  ;  and  the  poet,  with  no  American 
or  Canadian  pride  of  locality  to  beguile  him  in  his  interpreta- 
tion of  the  evidence,  observes  in  one  of  the  notes  to  his  poem : 
"  Leif  and  his  party  wintered  there,  and  observed  that  on  the 
shortest  day  the  sun  rose  about  eight  o'clock,  which  may  corre- 
spond with  the  forty-ninth  degree  of  latitude,  and  denotes  the 
situation  of  Newfoundland,  or  the  Eiver  St.  Lawrence."  The 
reference  here  is  to  the  sole  data  on  which  all  subsequent 
attempts  to  determine  the  geographical  location  of  Vinland 
have  been  based ;  and  after  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  specula- 
tion and  conjecture.  Professor  Gustav  Storm  in  his  Studier  over 
Vinlandsreiserne,  arrives  at  a  nearly  similar  conclusion.  Vin- 
land cannot  have  lain  farther  north  than  49°.  How  far 
southward  of  this  its  site  may  be  sought  for  is  matter  of 
conjecture ;  but  all  probabilities  are  opposed  to  its  discovery  so 
far  south  as  Ehode  Island. 

Professor  Eafn,  however,  arrived  at  very  different  results; 
and  found  abundant  confirmation  in  the  sympathetic  responses 
of  the  Ehode  Island  antiquaries.  The  famous  Dighton  Eock 
was  produced,  with  its  assumed  runic  inscription.  The 
Newport  Eound  Tower  was  a  still  more  satisfactory  indication 
of  permanent  settlement  by  its  supposed  Norse  builders ;  and 
"  The  Skeleton  in  Armour,"  on  which  Longfellow  founded  his 
ballad  romance,  was  accepted  without  hesitation  as  a  glimpse 
of  one  of  the  actual  colonists  of  Vinland   in  the  eleventh 


"I 

'S. 

f 


HiiHl'i;^ 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


47 


leen  up  the 
e  voyagers 
loths,  their 
nately  pro- 
)llowers,  a 
led  to  have 
return  the 
lie  name  of 

oyagers  on 
he  liveliest 
I  historical 
ling  of  the 
Can  it  be 

Greenland 
I  American 
interpreta- 

his  poem : 
-hat  on  the 
may  corre- 
lenotes  the 
ice."  The 
ubsequent 
Vinland 
)f  specula- 
tudier  over 
on.     Vin- 

How  far 
matter  of 
scovery  so 

results ; 
responses 
iton  Eock 
jn.  The 
indication 
lers;  and 
mded  his 
glimpse 
eleventh 


3 


century.  Professor  Kafn  accordingly  summed  up  the  inquiry, 
and  set  forth  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  in  this  definite 
fasliion.  "  It  is  the  total  result  of  the  nautical,  geographical, 
and  astronomical  evidence  in  the  original  documents,  which 
places  the  situations  of  the  countries  discovered  beyond  all 
doubt.  The  number  of  days'  sail  between  the  several  newly- 
found  lands,  the  striking  description  o*"  the  coasts,  especially 
the  sand-banks  of  Nova  Scotia ;  and  the  long  beaches  and 
downs  of  a  peculiar  appearance  on  Cape  Cod  (the  Kialarnes 
and  Furdustrandir  of  the  Northmen,)  are  not  to  be  mistaken. 
In  addition  hereto  we  have  the  astronomical  remark  that  the 
shortest  day  in  Vinland  was  nine  hours  long,  which  fixes  the 
latitude  of  41°  24'  10",  or  just  that  of  the  promontories  which 
limit  the  entrance  to  Mount  Hope  Bay,  where  Leifs  booths 
were  built,  and  in  the  district  around  which  the  old  Northmen 
had  their  head  establishment,  which  was  named  by  them  Ildp, 
or  the  Creek." 

The  Dighton  Rock  runes  erelong  fell  into  woeful  discredit ; 
and  as  for  the  Newport  Eound  Tower,  it  has  been  identified  as 
"The  Old  Stone  Mill"  built  there  by  Governor  Benedict 
Arnold,  who  removed  from  Providence  to  Newport  in  1653. 
Though  therefore  no  longer  to  be  accredited  to  the  Northmen, 
it  is  of  very  respectable  architectural  antiquity,  according  to 
New  World  reckoning.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  such  failure 
of  all  confirmatory  evirlence,  the  general  summary  of  results 
was  presented  by  Professor  Eafn  in  such  absolute  terms,  and 
the  geographical  details  of  the  assumed  localties  were  so 
confidently  accredited  by  the  members  of  the  Ehode  Island 
Historical  Society,  that  his  conclusions  were  accepted  as  a 
whole  without  cavil.  In  reality,  however,  when  we  revert  to 
the  evidence  from  which  such  definite  results  were  derived,  it 
proves  vague,  if  not  illusory.  The  voyagers  crossed  over  from 
Greenland  to  Helluland,  which  we  may  assume  without  hesita- 
tion to  have  been  the  inhospitable  coast  of  Labrador.  They 
then  pursued  a  south-western  course,  in  a  voyage  in  all  of  four 
days,  subdivided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  until  they 
landed  on  a  coast  where  wild  grapes  grew,  and  which 
accordingly  they  named  the  Land  of  the  Vine.  To  Icelandic 
or  Greenland  voyagers,  the  vine,  with  its  clusters  of  grapes, 
however  unpalatable,  could    not  fail  to    prove  an  object  of 


Mil 


m 

h.:i 

!li 

1 

1-'  ^ 

1 

!    S 

illl 

48 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


special  note.  But  there  is  no  need  to  prolong  the  four  days' 
run,  and  land  the  explorers  beyond  Cape  Cod,  in  order  to  find 
the  wild  grape.  It  grows  in  sheltered  localities  in  Nova 
Scotia ;  and  so  in  no  degree  conflicts  with  the  later  deductions 
based  on  the  same  astronomical  evidence  of  the  length  of  the 
shortest  day,  which  have  induced  subsequent  investigators  to 
adopt  conclusions  much  more  nearly  approximating  to  those 
suggested  by  the  poet  Montgomery  fully  sixteen  years  before 
the  issue  of  Professor  Eafn's  learned  quarto  from  the  Copen- 
hagen press. 

The  topographical  details  which  have  to  be  relied  upon  in 
any  attempt  to  identify  the  precise  locality  are  little  less  vague 
than  those  of  the  astronomical  data  from  which  the  editor  of 
the  Antiquitates  Americanm  assumed  to  compute  his  assigned 
latitude.  The  voyagers,  after  their  first  wintering,  pursued 
their  course  southward ;  and  again  approaching  the  shore,  made 
their  way  up  a  river,  to  a  lake  from  whence  it  flowed.  The 
land  was  wooded,  with  wild  "  wheat "  in  the  low  meadows, 
and  on  the  high  banks  grape-bearing  vines.  The  aspect  of  this 
strange  laud  was  tempting  to  voyagers  from  the  north,  so  they 
erected  booths,  and  wintered  there.  From  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  southward  to  Ehode  Island,  the  coast  is  indented 
with  many  an  estuary,  up  any  of  which  the  old  voyagers  may 
have  found  their  way  into  lake  or  expanded  basin,  with  over- 
hanging forest  trees,  meadow  flats,  and  other  features 
sufficiently  corresponding  to  all  that  we  learn  from  the  old 
Saga  of  the  temporary  settlement  of  Thorfinn  and  his  fellow- 
voyagers.  Fresh  claimants  accordingly  enter  the  lists  to 
contend  for  the  honours  that  pertain  to  the  landing-place  of 
those  first  Pilgrim  Fathers.  New  Englanders  above  all  not 
unnaturally  cherish  the  pleasant  fancy  that  they  had  for  their 
precursors  the  hardy  Vikings,  who,  resenting  the  oppression  of 
King  Harold  the  fair-haired,  sailed  into  the  unknown  west  to 
find  a  free  home  for  themselves.  The  fancy  had  a  double 
claim  on  the  gifted  musician  Ole  Bull.  Himself  a  wanderer 
from  the  Scandinavian  fatherland,  he  started  the  proposition 
which  was  to  give  an  air  of  indisputable  reality  to  the  old 
legend ;  and  which  culminated  in  the  erection,  on  Boston 
Common,  in  1888,  of  a  fine  statue  of  Leif  Ericson. 

"  South    of  Greenland    is   Helluland ;   next  is  Marklaiid ; 


% 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


49 


four  days' 
■der  to  find 
I  in  Nova 
deductions 
igth  of  the 
itigators  to 
g  to  those 
jars  before 
the  Copen- 

ed  upon  in 
less  vague 
le  editor  of 
is  assigned 
g,  pursued 
shore,  made 
wed.     The 
'  meadows, 
pect  of  this 
•th,  so  they 
uth  of  the 
s  indented 
'^agers  may 
with  over- 
features 
m  the  old 
his  fellow- 
lists    to 
ig-place  of 
ve  all  not 
d  for  their 
Dression  of 
n  west  to 
a  double 
wanderer 
)roposition 
o  the  old 
m  Boston 

Vlarklaad ; 


from  thence  is  not  far  to  Vinland  the  Good."  So  reads  the 
old  Saga ;  and  with  the  rearing  of  the  statue  of  its  finder,  it 
seemed  incumbent  on  some  loyal  son  of  the  Commonwealth  to 
demonstrate  the  site  of  the  good  land  within  the  area  of 
Massachusetts.  In  the  following  year,  accordingly.  Professor 
Eben  Norton  Horsford,  of  Cambridge,  undertook  the  search, 
and  was  able  to  identify  to  his  entire  satisfaction  the  site  of 
Leif's,  or  Karlsefne's  booths,  in  his  own  neighbourhood  on  the 
Charles  river.  First  appeared  in  1889  The,  Problem  of  the 
Northmen ;  and  in  the  following  year,  in  choicest  typography, 
and  amplitude  of  attractive  illustrations,  The  Discovery  of 
the  Ancient  City  of  Norumhega,  at  Watertown  on  the  River 
Charles.  There  the  ephemeral  booths  of  the  old  winterers  in 
Vinland  had  left  enduring  traces  after  a  lapse  of  more  than 
eight  centuries.  The  discoverer,  resolved  to  arrest  "  Time's 
decaying  fingers,"  which  had  thus  far  been  laid  with  such 
unwonted  gentleness  on  the  pioneer  relics,  has  marked  the 
spot  with  a  memorial  tower,  and  an  elaborately  inscribed 
tablet,  one  clause  of  which  runs  thus :  "  Kiver,  The  Charles, 

DISCOVERED  BY  LeIF  ErIKSON   1000  A.D.       EXPLORED    BY  ThOR- 

WALD,  Leif's  Brother,  1003  a.d.  Colonised  by  Thorfinn 
Karlsefni   1007  A.D.     First  Bishop  Erik  Gnupson  1121 

A.D." 

The  entire  evidence  has  been  readducjd  with  minutest 
critical  accuracy  in  Tlie  Finding  of  Wineland  the  Good :  the 
History  of  the  Icelandic  Discovery  of  America,  by  the  late  gifted 
Arthur  Middleton  Keeves.  His  verdict  is  thus  briefly  stated  : 
"  There  is  no  suggestion  in  Icelandic  records  of  a  permanent 
occupation  of  the  country;  and  after  the  exploration  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  it  is  not  known  that  Wine- 
land  was  ever  again  visited  by  Icelanders,  although  it  would 
appear  that  a  voyage  thither  was  attempted  in  the  year  1121, 
but  with  what  result  is  not  known."  ^  In  the  Codex  Frisianus 
is  an  apt  heading  which  might,  better  than  a  more  lengthy 
inscription,  have  given  expression  to  the  pleasant  fancy  that 
tiie  footprints  of  Leif  Ericson's  followers  had  been  recovered 
on  the  banks  of  the  Charles  river,  "  Fundit  Vinland  Gotha  " 
— Vineland  the  Good  found  !  Maps  old  and  new  illustrate  the 
topography  of  the  newly-assigned  site ;  and  among  the  rest, 

^  The  Finding  of  Wineland  the  Good,  p.  6. 
S 


iPfF 


1  »! 


m 


;«i  .     ■!» 


m 


I'    ' 

^  -"I 

II 

^%  1  il 

1) 

1 

J' 

'    1 

i 

50 


7W^   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


one  which  specially  aims  at  reproducing  the  most  definite 
feature  of  the  old  narrative  is  thus  titled : — "  Eiver  flowing 
through  a  lake  into  the  sea ;  Vinland  of  the  Northmen ;  site 
of  Leifs  houses."  To  his  own  satisfaction,  at  least,  it  is 
manifest  that  the  author  has  identified  the  site. 

But  a  great  deal  more  than  Leifs  booths  is  involved.  It  is 
the  discovery  of  the  ancient  city  of  Norumbega,  of  which  also 
the  inscribed  tablet  makes  due  record ;  including  the  statement, 
set  forth  more  fully  in  the  printed  text,  that  the  name  is  only 
an  Indian  transmutation  of  "Norbega,  the  ancient  form  of 
Norvega,  Norway,  to  which  Vinland  was  subject ! "  The  name, 
though  probably  unfamiliar  to  most  modern  readers,  was  once 
as  well  known  as  that  of  Utopia,  or  El  Dorado.  One  of  Sir 
John  Hawkins'  fellow-voyagers  claimed  to  have  seen  the  city 
of  Norumbega  still  standing  in  1568:  a  gorgeous  Indian 
town  outvying  the  capital  of  Montezuma,  and  resplendent  in 
pearls  and  gold.  Hakluyt  proposed  its  recolonisation ;  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  went  in  search  of  it ;  and  it  figures  both 
as  a  city  and  a  country  on  maps  familiar  to  older  generations 
than  the  founders  of  New  England.  Above  all,  Milton  has 
given  it  a  place  in  the  Tenth  Book  of  his  Paradise  Lost. 
When  the  Divine  Creator  is  represented  as  readapting  this 
world  to  a  fallen  race — 

Some  say  be  bid  bis  Angels  tiim  askance 
Tbe  poles  of  Eartb  twice  ten  degrees  and  more 

"   '"  From  tbe  sun's  axle 

>  Now  from  tbe  north 

Of  Norumbega,  and  tbe  Samoed  sbore, 
Bursting  tbeir  brazen  dungeon,  arm'd  witb  ice. 
And  snow,  and  bail,  and  stormy  gust  and  flaw, 
Boreas    .    .    . 

which  seems  to  imply  very  Icelandic  and  Arctic  associations 
of  the  Miltonic  muse.  But  the  gentle  New  England  poet, 
Whittier,  who  had  sung  of  his  Christian  knight  in  vain  quest  of 
the  marvellous  city,  thus  writes  in  sober  prose  to  its  modern 
discoverer :  "  I  had  supposed  that  the  famed  city  of  Norum- 
bega was  on  the  Penobscot  when  I  wrote  my  poem  some 
years  ago ;  but  I  am  glad  to  think  of  it  as  on  the  Charles, 
in  our  own  Massachusetts."  This  work  of  rearing  anew 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Charles  the  metropolis  of  Viu- 


m 


i 


'1 

A 

R 

^;'''£,aB9i 

^4 

^'~^B 

THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


51 


Dst  definite 
ver  flowing 
huien;  site 
least,  it  is 

■ved.  It  is 
'  which  also 
B  statement, 
ame  is  only 
nt  form  of 

The  name, 
rs,  was  once 

One  of  Sir 
sen  the  city 
sous  Indian 
plendent  in 
sation ;  Sir 
figures  both 

generations 

Milton  has 
iradise  Lost. 
iapting  this 


associations 
^land  poet, 
lin  quest  of 
its  modern 
of  Norum- 
)oem  some 
tie  Charles, 
iring  anew 
lis  of  Vin- 


land  the  Good  may  be  best  entrusted  to  the  poets  of  New 
England. 

All  praise  is  due  to  the  enthusiastic  editors  of  the  Antiqui- 
tates  Americana^  for  their  reproduction  of  the  original  records 
on  which  the  history  and  the  legends  of  Vinland  rest.  They 
found  only  too  willing  recipients  of  the  theories  and  assump- 
tions with  which  they  supplemented  the  genuine  narrative ; 
nor  has  the  uncritical  spirit  of  credulous  deduction  wholly 
ceased.  In  the  untimely  death  of  Professor  Munch,  the  his- 
torian of  Norway,  the  University  of  Christiana  lost  a  ripe  and 
acutely  critical  scholar  in  ths  very  flower  of  his  years.  But  in 
Dr.  Gustav  Storm  a  successor  has  been  found  not  unworthy  to 
fill  his  place,  and  represenc  the  younger  generation  of  Northern 
antiquaries,  who  have  now  taken  in  hand,  in  a  more  critical 
spirit,  yet  with  no  less  enthusiasm,  the  work  so  well  begun  by 
Rafn,  Finn  Magnusen,  and  Sveiubiorn  Egilsson.  In  the  same 
year  in  which  Leif  Ericson's  statue  was  set  up  in  Boston,  and 
all  the  old  enthusiasm  for  the  identification  of  the  lost  Vinland 
was  revived,  there  appeared  in  the  Mimoires  de  la  SocHU  Royale 
des  Antiquaires  du  Noi'd  a  series  of  Studies  on  the  Vineland 
Voyages,  from  the  pen  of  Professor  Storm,  embodying  a  critical 
analysis  of  the  evidence  relating  to  the  Vinland  voyages,  which 
is  treated  still  more  fully  in  his  Studier  over  Vinlandsreiserne, 
Vinlands  Geografi  og  Ethnographi.  The  whole  is  now  avail- 
able, along  with  valuable  additions,  including  photographic  fac- 
similes illustrative  of  the  original  MSS.,  in  Eeeves'  Finding  of 
Wineland  the  Good}  The  evidence  has  to  be  gleaned  from 
Ftwo  independent  series  of  narratives :  the  one  the  Icelandic 
^ Sagas  and  other  embodiments  of  the  Vinland  tradition ;  the 
lother  the  more  amplified,  but  less  reliable  narratives  of  Nor- 
wegian chroniclers.  The  earliest  Icelandic  accounts  are  derived 
■directly  or  indirectly  from  Ari  froSi,  more  particularly  referred 
to  on  a  later  page,  whose  date  as  an  author  is  given  as  about 
1120 ;  thereby  marking  the  transmission  of  the  narrative  to  a 
younger  generation  before  it  was  committed  to  writing.  Ari 
froSi,  i.e.  the  learned,  derived  the  story  from  his  paternal  uncle 
Thorkell  Gellisson  of  Helgufell,  who  lived  in  the  latter  half  of 

^  The  Finding  of  Winelmid  the  Good :  the  History  of  tlie  Icelandic  Discovery  of 
America,  edited  and  translated  from  the  earliest  records,  by  Arthur  Middleton 
Reeves. 


52 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


i:' 


the  eleventh  century ;  and  so  was  a  contemporary  of  Adam  of 
Bremen,  who,  when  resident  at  the  Danish  Court,  about  the 
year  1070,  obtained  the  information  relating  to  the  Northern 
regions  which  he  embodied  in  his  Descriptio  insularum  aqui- 
lonis.  Ari's  uncle,  Thorkell,  is  said  to  have  spoken,  when 
in  Greenland,  with  a  man  who,  in  the  year  985,  had  accom- 
panied Erik  the  Red  on  his  expedition  from  Iceland ;  so  that 
the  authority  is  good,  if  the  narrative  were  sufficiently  ample ; 
but  unfortunately,  though  Ari's  notes  of  what  he  learned  from 
his  uncle  are  still  extant  in  the  L'ihellus  Islandorum,  they  are 
exceedingly  meagre.  The  Vinland  explorations  had  no  such 
importance  for  the  men  of  that  age  as  they  possess  for  us, 
and  are  accordingly  dealt  with  as  a  very  secondary  matter. 
Professor  Gustav  Storm,  in  his  Studies  on  the  Vineland  Voyages, 
notes  that  Thorkell  seems  to  have  told  his  nephew  most  about 
the  colonisation  of  Greenland.  In  Professor  Storm's  Stvdies, 
and  in  the  exhaustive  Finding  of  Wineland  the  Good,  by  Arthur 
Middleton  Reeves,  the  entire  bearings  of  the  evidence,  and  the 
relative  value  of  the  various  ancient  authorities,  are  discussed 
with  minute  care;  and  lead  alike  to  the  inevitable  conclusion 
that  any  assignment  of  a  site  for  the  lost  Vinland,  either  on 
Rhode  Island,  or  on  any  part  of  the  New  England  coast,  is  unten- 
able. The  deductions  of  Professor  Rafn  from  the  same  evidence 
were  accepted  as  a  final  verdict,  until  the  too  eager  confirmation 
of  his  Rhode  Island  correspondents  brought  them  into  discredit. 
Now  when  we  undertake  an  unbiassed  review  of  them,  it  is 
manifest  that  too  much  weight  has  been  attached  to  his  esti- 
mate of  distances  measured  by  the  vague  standard  of  a  day's 
sail  of  a  rude  galley  dependent  on  wind  and  tide.  This  Pro- 
fessor Rafn  assumed  as  equivalent  to  twenty-four  geographical 
miles.  But  very  slight  consideration  suffices  to  show  that,  with 
an  indefinite  starting-point,  and  only  a  vague  indication  of  the 
direction  of  sailing,  with  the  unknown  influences  of  wind  and 
tide,  any  such  arbitrary  deduction  of  a  definite  measurement 
from  the  log  of  the  old  Northmen  is  not  only  valueless,  but 
misleading. 

A  reconsideration  of  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  references 
to  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the  different  points  touched  at,  shows 
that  others  of  Professor  Rafn's  deductions  are  equally  open  to 
correction.     Helluland,  a  barren  region,  of  large  stone  slabs, 


'I 

■1 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


53 


:  Adam  of 
about  the 
s  Northern 
rum  aqui- 
Icen,  when 
ad  accom- 
d ;  so  that 
tly  ample ; 
irned  from 
n,  they  are 
d  no  such 
ess  for  us, 
iry  matter. 
id  Voyages, 
nost  about 
n's  Studies, 
,  by  Arthur 
ce,  and  the 
e  discussed 
conclusion 
,  either  on 
3t,  is  unten- 
le  evidence 
anfirmation 
;o  discredit, 
them,  it  is 
to  his  esti- 

of  a  day's 

This  Pro- 
eographical 
V  that,  with 
tion  of  the 

wind  and 
easurement 

ueless,  but 

references 
i  at,  shows 
ly  open  to 
tone  slabs, 


wi'uti  no  other  trace  of  life  than  the  Arctic  fox,  presented  the 
same  aspect  as  Labrador  still  offers  to  the  eye  of  the  voyager. 
But  there  is  no  need  to  traverse  the  entire  Canadian  and  New 
England  coasts  before  a  region  can  be  found  answering  to  the 
descriptions  of  a  forest-clad  country,  of  numerous  deer,  or  even 
of  the  vine,  as  noted  by  the  old  explorers  from  Greenland. 
To  the  eye  of  the  Greenlander,  the  Markland,  or  forest-clad 
land,  lay  within  sight  no  farther  south  than  Newfoundland  or 
Cape  Breton.  To  those  who  are  accustomed  to  associate  the 
vine  with  the  Rhine  laud,  or  the  plains  of  Champagne,  it 
sounds  equally  extravagant  to  speak  of  the  Maritime  Provinces, 
or  of  the  New  England  States,  as  "  Vinland  the  Good."  But 
numerous  allusions  of  voyagers  and  travellers  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  refer  with  commendation  to  the  wild 
grapes  of  North  America.  Jacques  Cartier  on  making  his  way 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  his  second  voyage,  gave  to  the  Isle  of 
Orleans  the  name  of  the  Isle  de  Bacchus,  because  of  the  many 
wild  vines  found  there ;  though  he  notes  that,  "  not  being  cul- 
tivated nor  pruned,  the  grapes  are  neither  so  large  nor  so  sweet 
as  ours  " — that  is,  those  of  France.  Lescarbot,  in  like  manner, 
in  1606,  records  the  grape  vine  as  growing  at  Chuakouet,  or 
Saco,  in  Maine,  and  in  the  following  year  they  are  noted  as 
abundant  along  the  banks  of  the  river  St.  John  in  New 
Brunswick. 

To  voyagers  from  Iceland  or  Greenland  many  portions  of 
the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  would  present  the  aspect  of  a  region 
clothed  with  forest,  and,  as  such,  "  extremely  beautiful."  Deer 
are  still  abundant  both  there  and  in  Newfoundland ;  and  as 
for  the  grapes  gathered  by  Leif  Ericson,  or  those  brought  back 
to  Thorvald  by  Hake  and  Hekia,  the  swift  runners,  at  their 
more  northern  place  of  landing,  the  wild  vine  is  well  known 
at  the  present  time  in  sheltered  localities  of  Nova  Scotia. 
Having  therefore  carefully  studied  the  earliest  maps  and  charts, 
of  which  reduced  copies  are  furnished  in  the  Mimoires,  and 
reviewed  the  whole  evidence  with  minute  care,  Professor  Storm 
thus  unhesitatingly  states  the  results :  "  Kjalarnes,  the  northern 
extremity  of  Vinland,  becomes  Cape  Breton  Island,  specially 
described  as  low-lying  and  sandy.  The  fiord  into  which  the 
Northmen  steered,  on  the  country  becoming  fjorthskorit,  i.e. 
'fiord-indented,'  may  have  been  one  of  the  bays  of  Guys- 


m 

I:' 

li 


54 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


I 


borough,  the  county  of  Nova  Scotia  lying  farthest  to  the  north- 
east ;  possibly  indeed  Canso  Bay,  or  some  one  of  the  bays  south 
of  it.  Therefore  much  further  to  the  south  in  Nova  Scotia 
must  we  seek  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  Karlsefn  made 
his  abortive  attempt  at  colonisation.  .  .  .  The  west  coast  of 
northern  Vinland  is  characterised  as  a  region  of  uninliabited 
forest  tracks,  with  few  open  spots,  a  statement  admirably 
agreeing  with  the  topographical  conditions  distinguishing  the 
west  coast  of  Cape  Breton  Island,  which  in  a  modern  book  of 
travels  is  spoken  of  as  '  an  unexplored  and  trackless  land  of 
forests  and  mountains.'  Hence  to  the  south  of  this  region 
search  has  to  be  made  for  the  mouth  of  the  streamlet  where 
Thorvald  Eriksson  was  killed."  Various  points,  accordingly, 
such  as  Salmon  river,  or  one  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  Pictou 
harbour,  are  suggested  as  furnishing  features  of  resemblance 
and  inviting  to  further  research. 

Here,  then,  is  the  same  problem  submitted  to  the  historical 
antiquaries  of  Nova  Scotia  which  those  of  Ehode  Island  took 
up  upwards  of  half  a  century  ago,  with  unbounded  zeal,  and 
very  surprising  results.  Nor  is  there  a  "Dighton  Eock" 
wanting;  for  Nova  Scotia  has  its  inscribed  stone,  already 
interpreted  as  graphic  runes,  replete  with  equally  suggestive 
traces  of  the  Northmen  of  the  tenth  century.  The  inscribed 
rock  at  Yarmouth  has  long  been  an  object  of  curious  interest. 
So  far  back  as  1'  57  I  received  from  Dr.  J.  G.  Farish  a  full-sized 
copy  of  the  inscription,  with  the  following  account  of  it :  "  The 
inscription,  of  which  the  accompanying  sketch  is  an  exact  copy, 

Inscription,  Yarmouth  Rock,  Nova  Scotia. 

was  discovered  forty-five  years  ago,  at  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia. 
The  r 'j'!  on  which  the  characters  are  engraved  is  about  two 
feet  in  diameter,  of  an  irregular  hemispherical  shape,  with  one 
naturally  smooth  surface.  It  lies  on  the  shore  of  a  small  inlet, 
at  high-water  mark,  and  close  to  the  bank,  on  which  it  may 
formerly  have  rested.  The  stone  has  been  split  where  a  very 
thin  vein  of  quartz  once  traversed  it,  but  the  corresponding 


half  could  never  be  found. 


The  tracing  has  been  done  with  a 


in 


KM 


THE  VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTH u.  EN 


55 


)  the  north- 
bays  south 
fova  Scotia 
dsefn  made 
!St  coast  of 
aniuhabited 
admirably 
uishing  the 
ern  book  of 
[ess  land  of 
this  region 
imlet  where 
accordingly, 
into  Pictou 
resemblance 

le  historical 
Island  took 
id  zeal,  and 
iton  Eock  " 
ne,  already 
r  suggestive 
le  inscribed 
)us  interest. 

a  full-sized 
Df  it:  "The 

exact  copy, 


V^ 


\ 


ova  Scotia, 
about  two 
e,  with  one 
small  inlet, 
lich  it  may 
lere  a  very 
esponding 
one  with  a 


sharp-pointed  instrument  carried  onward,  by  successive  blows 
[   of  a  hammer  or  mallet,  the  eflect  of  which  is  plainly  visible. 
t   The  point  of  the  instrument  barely  penetrated  the   layer  of 
}    quartz,  wliich  is  almost  as   tliin    as   the   black  marks   of   the 
\   sketch,     Tlie  inscription  has   been   shown   to  several  learned 
gentlemen, — one  intimately  accjuainted  with  the  characters  of 
I  the  Micmac  and    Millicet   Indians   who   once   inhabited    this 
I  country ;  another,  familiar  with  the  Icelandic  and  other  Scan- 
dinavian languages  ;  but  no  person  has  yet  been  able  to  decipher 
f  it."     Again,  in  1880,  I  received  from  Mr.  J.  Y.  Bulmer,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society,  a  photograph  of  the 
Yarmouth  rock,   with   an   accompanying  letter,   in  which  he 
remarks :  "  I  am  directed  by  the  council  of  the  Nova  Scotia 
Historical   Society  to  forward  to  you  a  photographic  view  of 
B  stone  found  near  the  ocean,  in  Yarmouth  county,  N.S.,  and 
having  an  inscription  which,  if  not   runic    or   Phoenician,  is 
supposed  by  many  to  be  the  work  of  man.    As  ancient  remains 
are  most  likely  to  be  preserved  by  calling  attention  to  all  such 
works  and  inscriptions,  we  thought  it  best  to  forward  it  to  you, 
where  it  could  be  examined  by  yourself  and  others  likely  to 
};  detect  a  fraud,  or  translate  an  inscription.     The  stone  is  now 
I  — or  was  one  hundred  years  ago, — near,  or  in  fact  on,  the  edge 
'  of  the  sea.     It  has  since  been  removed  to  Yarmouth  for  pre- 
servation.    It  was  luund  near  Cape  Sable,  a  cape  that  must 
I  have  been  visited  by  nearly  every  navigator,  whether  ancient 
I  or  modern." 

The  earlier  description  of  Dr.  Farish  is  valuable,  as  it 
preserves  an  account  of  the  rock  while  it  still  occupied  its 
original  site.  He  speaks,  moreover,  definitely  as  to  the  period 
when  it  first  attracted  attention;  and  which,  though  more 
recent  than  the  "  one  hundred  years  "  of  my  later  correspondent, 
or  a  nearly  eriuivalent  statement  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
:  American  Philosophical  Society,  that  "  it  has  been  known 
,  for  nearly  an  hundied  years,"  is  sufficiently  remote  to  remove 
all  idea  of  fraud,  at  least  by  any  person  of  the  present  genera- 
tion. The  description  given  by  Dr.  Farish  of  the  apparent 
execution  of  the  inscription  by  means  of  a  sharp-pointed  instru- 
ment— meaning  thereby  no  doubt  a  metallic  tool, — and  a 
hammer  or  mallet,  clearly  points  to  other  than  native  Indian 
workmanship,  whatever  may  have  been  the  date  of  its  execution. 


I!   : 


:: 


11^  y 


liii 


56 


THE  V INLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


As  will  be  seen  fVoiii  the  accompnnying  copy,  it  is  in  nrbitrnry 
linear  characters  l)earing  no  resemblance  to  the  abbreviated 
symbols  familiar  to  us  in  Indian  epigraphy ;  and  at  the  same 
time  it  may  be  described  as  uniciue  in  character.  Having 
been  known  to  people  resident  in  its  vicinity  for  many  years 
before  the  attention  of  students  of  the  early  monuments  of  the 
continent  was  invited  to  it,  it  appears  to  be  beyond  suspicion 
of  purposed  fraud.  I  did  not  attempt  any  solution  of  the 
enigma  thus  repeatedly  submitted  to  my  consideration  ;  but  it 
was  this  graven  stone  that  was  referred  to  when,  in  the 
inaugural  address  to  the  section  of  History  and  Archreology  of 
the  Eoyal  Society  of  Canada,  in  1882,  the  remark  was  made: 
"  I  know  of  but  one  inscription  in  Canada  which  seems  to 
suggest  the  possibility  of  a  genuine  native  record." 

On  nearly  every  recurrence  of  an  inscription  in  any  linear 
form  of  alphabetic  character  brought  to  light  in  the  western 
hemisphere,  the  first  idea  has  been  to  suggest  a  Phoenician 
origin ;  and  this  is,  no  doubt,  implied  in  the  statement  of  its 
runic  decipherer,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  that  "  the  glyphs  have  been  at  various  times 
copied  and  sent  abroad  to  men  of  learning  who  have  made 
more  or  less  attempts  at  deciphering  them,  more  than  one 
savant  seeing  traces  of  Semitic  origin."  But  latterly  with  the 
reported  discovery  of  any  linear  inscription  on  the  eastern  sea- 
board, the  temptation  has  been  to  refer  it  to  the  Northmen  of 
the  eleve*  h  century.  To  this  accordingly  the  allusions  of 
both  of  luy  Nova-Scotian  correspondents  pointed.  But  the 
characters  of  the  Scandinavian  futhork  are  sufficiently  definite 
to  satisfy  any  one  familiar  with  Scottish  and  Manx  runic  in- 
scriptions, or  with  Professor  George  Stephens'  ample  illustra- 
tions of  them  as  they  are  found  in  the  native  home  of  the 
Northmen,  that  it  is  vain  to  look  to  either  for  a  key  to  the 
graven  legend  on  the  Yarmouth  rock.  The  presence  of  the 
Northmen,  not  only  in  Iceland  and  Greenland,  but  as  transient 
visitors  on  some  portion  of  the  North  American  mainland,  now 
rests  on  satisfactory  historical  evidence.  In  Greenland  they 
left  indisputable  literate  records  of  their  colonisation  of  the 
region  to  which  they  gave  the  inapt  name  it  still  retains. 
The  runic  inscriptio:QS  brought  to  Copenhagen  in  1831  not 
only  determine  the  sites  of  settlements  effected  by  the  com- 


THE  VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


57 


in  arbitrnry 
abbrevintud 
it  the  samo 
iv.  Having 
many  years 
rients  of  tlie 
id  suspicion 
tion  of  the 
tion  ;  but  it 
len,  in  the 
chreology  of 
;  was  made : 
h  seems  to 

1  any  linear 

the  western 

Phoenician 

sment  of  its 

ican   Philo- 

arious  times 

have  made 

3  than  one 

•ly  with  the 

eastern  sea- 

[orthmen  of 

illusions  of 

But  the 

itly  definite 

IX  runic  in- 

ile  illustra- 

3me  of  the 

key  to  the 

mce  of  the 

is  transient 

inland,  now 

aland  they 

ion  of  the 

ill  retains. 

1831  not 

the  com- 


panions and  successors  of  Eric,  but  they  serve  to  show  the 
kind  of  evidence  to  be  looked  for,  alike  to  the  north  and  the 
south  of  the  St.  I^wrence,  if  any  traces  yet  survive  of  their 
liavin*,'  attempted  to  colonise  the  old  Markland  and  Vinland, 
whether  the  latter  is  recovered  in  Nova  Scotia  or  New 
England.  Their  genuine  memorials  are  not  less  definite  than 
those  left  by  the  Romans  in  ( laul  or  Britain  ;  and  corresponding 
traces  of  them  in  tlie  assumed  Vinland,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
United  States,  have  been  perseveringly,  but  vainly,  sought  for. 
One  unmistakably  definite  Scandinavian  inscription,  that  of  the 
"  Huidferk,"  professedly  found  on  the  river  Potomac,  does  not 
lay  claim  to  serious  criticism.  It  was  affinned  to  have  been 
discovered  in  1867  graven  on  a  rock  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac ;  but  to  any  student  familiar  with  the  genuine 
examples  figured  in  the  Antiqnitatcs  Americance,  it  will  be 
readily  recognised  as  a  clever  hoax,  fabricated  by  the  corre- 
spondent of  the  Washington  Union  out  of  genuine  Greenland 
inscriptions.     It  reads  thus :    hir  huilir  syasy  fagrharrdr 

AVSTFIRTHINGR    IKI    A    KILDI    SYSTR    THORG    SAMFETHRA    HALF- 

TIIRITGR  GLEDA  GVD  SAL  HENAR.  To  this  are  added  certain 
symbols,  suggested  it  may  be  presumed  by  the  Kingiktorsoak 
inscription,  from  which  the  translator  professes  to  derive  the 
date  A.D.  1051. 

In  the  interval  between  the  dates  of  the  two  communications 
previously  referred  to,  a  rubbing  of  the  inscription  on  the 
Yarmouth  rock  was  forwarded  to  Mr.  Henry  Phillips  jr.,  of 
Philadelphia.  It  appears  to  have  been  under  consideration  by 
him  at  intervals  for  nine  years,  when  at  length  it  was  made 
the  subject  of  a  paper  read  before  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  and  printed  in  its  Proceedings  in  1884.  After  a 
description  of  the  locality,  and  the  discovery  of  the  inscribed 
stone  on  its  original  site,  "  about  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
by  a  man  named  Fletcher,"  Mr.  Phillips  states  the  reasons 
which  sufficed  to  satisfy  him  that  the  inscription  is  a  genuine 
one.  He  then  proceeds  thus :  "  Having  become  imbued  with 
a  belief  that  no  deception  was  intended,  or  practised,  I  entered 
upon  the  study  of  the  markings  with  a  mind  totally  and 
entirely  free  from  prejudice.  So  far  from  believing  that  the 
inscription  was  a  relic  of  the  pre-Columbian  discovery  of 
America,  I  had  never  given  any  credence  to  that  theory." 


w^ 


58 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


it              >jl 

liiiil 

11  III 

III  1 1 

I  1 1  M 

1 11  1 

1  ill 

1  ii 

Ilii 

■Pi  i'l  1 

lljlJ 

1 1 !  ^ 

1  i  ^  ^^^ 

w           '''■ 

i'-'-  "iill 

■ii  Ik 

Thus,  not  only  entirely  unbiassed,  but,  as  he  says,  "  somewhat 
prejudiced  against  the  authenticity  of  any  inscription  on  this 
continent  purporting  to  emanate  from  the  hardy  and  intrepid 
Norsemen,"  he  proceeded  to  grapple  with  the  strange  characters. 
"As  in  a  kaleidoscope,  word  after  word  appeared  in  disjointed 
form,  and  each  was  in  turn  rejected,  until  at  last  an  in- 
telligible word  came  forth,  followed  by  another  and  another, 
until  a  real  sentence  with  a  meaning  stood  forth  to  my 
astonished  gaze :  Harkussen  men  varu — Hako's  son  addressed 
the  men."  On  reverting  to  the  old  Vinland  narrative  this 
seemed  all  unexpectedly  to  tally  with  it,  for  Mr.  Phillips  found 
that  in  the  expedition  of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  in  1007,  one 
named  Haki  occurs  among  those  who  accompanied  him.  Still 
more  noteworthy,  as  it  appears,  though  overlooked  by  him, 
this  oldest  record  of  a  European  visitor  to  the  Nova-Scotian 
shores,  if  actually  referable  to  Hake,  the  fellow-voyager  of 
Thorfinn,  was  no  Northman,  but  a  Scot !  For  Thorfinn  him- 
self, the  old  Saga,  as  reproduced  in  the  Antiquitates  Americwnce, 
claims  a  comprehensive  genealogy  in  which  his  own  Scottish 
cncestry  is  not  overlooked.  In  the  summer  of  1006,  according 
1o  the  narrative  of  the  "settlement  effected  in  Vinland  by 
Thorfinn,"  "  there  arrived  in  Greenland  two  ships  from  Iceland  ; 
the  one  was  commanded  by  Thorfinn,  having  the  very  significant 
surname  of  Karlsefn  (i.e.  who  promises,  or  is  destined  to  be  an 
able  or  great  man),  a  Avealthy  and  powerful  man,  of  illustrious 
hueage,  and  sprung  from  Danish,  Norwegian,  Swedish,  Irish  and 
Scottish  ancestors,  some  of  whom  were  kings  of  royal  descent. 
He  waii  accompanied  by  Snorre  Thorbrandson,  who  was  also  a 
man  of  distinguished  lineage.  The  other  ship  was  commanded 
by  Bjarne  Grimolfson,  of  Breidefiord,  and  Thorhall  Gamlison,  of 
Austfiord.  They  kept  the  festival  of  Yule  at  Brattalid. 
Thorfinn  became  enamoured  of  Gudrida,  and  obtained  the  con- 
sent of  her  brother-in-law,  Leif,  and  their  marriage  was 
celebrated  during  the  winter.  On  this,  as  on  former  occasions, 
the  voyage  to  Vinland  formed  a  favourite  theme  of  conversa- 
tion, and  Thorfinn  was  urged  both  by  his  wife  and  others  to 
undertake  such  a  voyage.  It  was  accordingly  resolved  on  in 
the  spring  of  1007."  This  later  narrative  distinctly  sets  forth 
an  organised  scheme  of  permanent  settlement  in  the  tempting 
land  of  the  vine.     Thorvald,  who  was  in  command  of  one  of 


;h 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


59 


'  somewhat 
on  on  this 
id  intrepid 
characters. 
L  disjointed 
LSt    an    iu- 
id  another, 
th    to    my 
L  addressed 
■rative  this 
illips  found 
1007,  one 
him.     Still 
id  by  him, 
uva-Scotian 
voyager  of 
Drfinn  him- 
Americatice, 
vn  Scottish 
),  according 
/"inland  by 
m  Iceland ; 
significant 
d  to  be  an 
illustrious 
1,  Irish  and 
'al  descent, 
was  also  a 
ommanded 
amlison,  of 
Brattalid. 
d  the  con- 
rriage  was 
occasions, 
conversa- 
others  to 
ved  on  in 
sets  forth 
tempting 
of  one  of 


1 


the  three  ships  fitted  out  for  the  expedition,  was  raarriv^d  to 
Fieydisa,  a  natural  daughter  of  Eric  the  Eed.  "  On  board  this 
ship  was  also  a  man  of  the  name  of  Thorliall,  who  had  long 
served  Eric  as  a  huntsman  in  summer,  and  as  Ixouse-steward 
in  winter,  and  who  had  mucli  acquaintance  with  the  uncolonised 
parts  of  Greenland.  They  had  in  all  IGO  men.  They  took 
witli  them  all  kinds  of  live  stock,  it  being  their  intention  to 
establish  a  colony,  if  possible."  Then  follows  the  notice  of 
their  observations  of  tlie  characteristic  features,  and  of  the 
fauna  and  flora  of  Helluland,  Markland,  and  subsequent  points ; 
to  tlie  last  of  which,  characterised  by  "  trackless  deserts  and 

:  long  l)eaches  with  sands,"  they  gave  the  name  of  Furdustraudir. 
After  passing  this,  the  characteristic  feature  is  noted  that  the 
land  began  to  be  indented  by  inlets,  or  bays.  Then  follows 
the  notice  of  Hake,  the  Scot,  to  whom  Mr.  Phillips  conceives 
the    Yarmouth    inscription    may    be    due.       The    reference, 

\  accordingly,  with  its  accompanying  description  of  the  country, 
yi  has  a  special  claim  to  notice  here.     "  They  had,"  says  the  Saga, 

' "  two  Scots   with   them,   Haki  and   Hekia,   whom   Leif  had 

"  formerly  received  from  the  Norwegian  King,  Olaf  Tryggvason," 
it  may  be  assumed  as  slaves  carried  ofif  in  some  marauding 

*'  expedition  to  the  British  Islands.     The  two  Scots,  man  and 

*  woman,  it  is  added,  "  were  very  swift  of  foot.     They  put  them 

•  on  shore  recommending  them  to  proceed  in  a  south-west 
\  direction,  and  explore  the  country.  After  the  lapse  of  three 
I  days  they  returned,  bringing  with  them  aorae  grapes  and  ears 
'^  of  wheat,  wliich  grew  ^vild  in  that  region.  They  continued 
I  their  course  until  they  came  to  a  place  where  the  firth  pene- 
f  trated  far  into  the  countrv.  Off  the  mouth  of  it  was  an  island 
;^  past  which  there  ran  strong  currents,  which  was  also  the  case 
-'  further  up  the  firth.     On  the  island   tliere  was  an  immense 

number  of  eider  ducks,  so  that  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  walk 
without  treadin.g  on  their  eggs.  They  called  the  island 
Straumey  (Stream  Isle),  and  the  firth  Straumfiordr  (Stream 
•  Firth).  They  landed  on  the  shore  of  this  firth,  and  made 
^  preparations  for  their  winter  residenceo  Tlie  country  was 
extremely  beautiful,"  as  we  may  readily  imagine  a  sheltered 
nook  of  Nova  Scotia  to  have  a.ppeared  to  voyagers  fresh  from 
Iceland  and  the  Greenland  shores.  It  may  be  well  ^o  note  here 
that  the  incident  of  the  discovery  of  the  viae  and  the  gathering 


filU 


\m 


60 


THE   VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


of  grapes  reappears  in  different  narratives  under  \'arying  forms. 
It  was  a  feature  to  be  specially  looked  for  Ijy  all  later  voyagers 
in  search  of  the  Vinland  of  the  first  expedition,  that  set  out  in 
search  for  the  southern  lands  of  which  Bjarni  Herjulfson  is 
reported  to  have  brought  back  an  account  to  Greenland.  Nor 
is  the  discovery  of  the  vine  by  successive  explorers  along  the 
American  seaboard  in  any  degree  improbable,  though  it  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  that  some  of  the  later  accounts  are  mere 
amplifications  of  the  original  narrative.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  to 
be  noted  that  the  scene  of  Haki  the  Scot's  discovery,  was  not 
the  H6p,  identified  by  the  Ehode  Island  Historical  Society  with 
their  own  Mount  Hope  Bay.  As  for  Thorhall  and  his  ship- 
mates, they  turned  back,  northward,  in  search  of  Vinland,  and 
so  deserted  their  fellow-voyagers  before  the  scene  of  attempted 
colonisation  was  reached,  and  were  ultimately  reported  to  have 
been  wrecked  on  the  Irish  coast. 

Such  is  the  episode  in  the  narrative  of  ancient  explorations 
of  the  North  American  shores  by  voyagers  from  Greenland,  in 
which  Mr.  Phillips  was  gratified  by  the  startling  conformity,  as 
it  seemed  to  him,  of  the  name  of  Haki,  with  the  Harkussen  of 
his  runes ;  though,  it  must  be  admitted,  the  identity  is  far  from 
complete.  If,  however,  there  were  no  doubt  as  to  the  inscrip- 
tion being  a  genuine  example  of  Northern  runes,  the  failure  to 
refer  them  to  Hake,  or  any  other  specific  member  of  an  ex- 
ploring party,  would  be  of  little  moment.  Here,  at  any  rate, 
was  evidence  which,  if  rightly  interpreted,  was  calculated  to 
suggest  a  reconsideration  of  the  old  localisation  of  Vinland  in 
the  state  of  Ehode  Island;  and  to  this  other  evidence  pointed 
even  more  clearly.  Eeassured,  accordingly,  by  a  study  of  the 
map,  which  shows  the  comparatively  trifling  distance  traversed 
by  the  assumed  voyagers  from  Greenland,  when  compared  with 
that  from  their  remote  European  fatherland,  Mr,  Phillips  sub- 
mitted his  interpretation  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
"  as  worthy  of  consideration,  if  not  absolutely  convincing," 
To  the  topographer  of  the  maritime  coasts  of  Canada,  a  genuine 
runic  inscription  which  proved  that  Norse  voyagers  from 
Greenland  did  actually  land  on  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia, 
in  A,D,  ■'007,  and  leave  there  a  literate  record  of  their  visit, 
would  be  pt')uliarly  acceptable.  But  whatever  be  the  signi- 
ficance  of  the  Yarmouth  inscription,  it  fails  to   satisfy  such 


,  i,i 


V 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


6i 


rying  forms, 
ter  voyagers 
it  set  out  in 
[erjulfson  is 
iland.  Nor 
s  along  the 
)ugh  it  can 
its  are  mere 
any  rate,  to 
ery,  was  not 
Society  with 
id  his  ship- 
/"inland,  and 
)f  attempted 
rted  to  have 

explorations 

reenland,  in 

mformity,  as 

larkussen  of 

y  is  far  from 

the  inscrip- 

le  failure  to 

of  an  ex- 

any  rate, 

culated  to 

Vinland  in 

nee  pointed 

tudy  of  the 

3e  traversed 

npared  with 

lillips  suh- 

ical  Society 

jonvincing." 

,,  a  genuine 

ers    from 

ova  Scotia, 

their  visit, 

the  signi- 

latisfy  such 


•HXt 


requirements.  It  neither  accords  with  the  style,  or  usual 
formula  of  runic  inscriptions ;  nor,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
accompanying  facsimile,  is  it  graven  in  any  variation  of  the 
familiar  characters  of  the  Scandinavian  futhork.  The  fas- 
cinating temptation  has  to  be  set  aside;  and  the  Hake  or 
Harkussen  of  its  modern  interpreter  must  take  rank  with  the 
illusory  Thorfinu  discovered  by  the  Ehode  Island  antiquaries 
on  their  famed  Dighton  Rock,  which  still  stands  by  the  banks 
of  the  Taunton  river. 

It  is  indeed  vain  for  us  to  hope  for  evidence  of  the  same 
definite  kind  as  that  which  establishes  beyond  question  the 
presence  of  the  Northmen  on  the  sites  of  their  long-settled 
colonies  in  Greenland.  Their  visits  to  the  Canadian  seaboard 
were  transitory;  and  any  attempt  at  settlement  there  failed. 
Yet  witliout  the  definite  memorials  of  the  old  Norse  colonists 
recovered  in  the  present  century  on  the  sites  of  their  Green- 
land settlements,  it  would  probably  have  proved  vain  to 
identify  them  now.  The  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  is  indented 
with  inlets,  and  estuaries  of  creeks  and  rivers,  suggesting 
some  vague  resemblance  to  the  Hop,  or  creek  of  the  old 
Sagas.  Whether  any  one  of  them  presents  adequate  features 
for  identification  with  the  descriptions  furnished  in  their 
accounts  has  yet  to  be  ascertained.  But  there  is  every 
motive  to  stimulate  us  to  a  careful  survey  of  the  coast  in 
search  of  any  probable  site  of  the  Vinland  of  the  old  North- 
men. Slight  as  are  the  details  available  for  such  a  purpose, 
the^-  are  not  without  some  specific  definiteness,  which  the 
Ehode  Island  antiquaries  turned  to  account,  not  without  a 
warning  to  u,  in  their  too  confident  assumption  of  results. 
])r.  E.  B.  Tylor,  in  his  address  to  the  section  of  anthropology 
at  the  Montreal  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  after 
re;  ring  to  the  Icelandic  records  of  the  explorations  of  the 
hart  sea-rovers  from  Greenland,  as  too  consistent  to  be 
refusud  belief  as  to  the  main  facts,  thus  proceeded:  "They 
sailed  some  way  down  the  American  coast.  But  where  are 
we  to  look  for  the  most  southerly  points  which  the  Sagas 
mention  as  reached  in  Vineland  ?  Where  was  Keel-ness 
where  Thorvald's  ship  ran  aground,  and  Cross-ness  where  he 
was  buried  when  he  died  by  the  Skriiling's  arrow  ?  Eafn,  in 
the  Antiquitates  Americancc,  confidently  maps  out  these  places 


62 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


about  the  promontory  of  Cape  Cod,  in  Massachusetts,  and  this 
has  been  repeated  since  from  book  to  book.  I  must  plead 
guilty  to  having  cited  liafn's  map  before  now,  but  when  with 
reference  to  the  present  meeting  I  consulted  our  learned 
editor  of  Scandinavian  records  at  Oxford,  Mr.  Gudbrand 
Vigfusson,  and  afterwards  went  through  the  original  passages 
in  the  Sagas  with  Mr.  York  Powell,  I  am  bound  to  say  that 
the  voyages  of  the  Northmen  ought  to  be  reduced  to  more 
moderate  limits.  It  appears  that  they  crossed  from  Green- 
land to  Labrador  (Helluland),  and  thence  sailing  more  or 
less  south  and  west,  in  two  stretches  of  two  days  each,  they 
came  to  a  place  near  where  wild  grapes  grew,  whence  they 
called  the  country  Vine-land.  This  would,  therefore,  seem  to 
have  been  somewhere  about  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  it 
would  be  an  interesting  object  for  a  yachting  cruise  to  try 
down  from  the  east  coast  of  Labrador  a  fair  four  days'  sail  of 
a  Viking  ship,  and  identify,  if  possible,  the  sound  between  the 
island  and  the  ness,  the  river  running  out  of  the  lake  into  the 
sea,  the  long  stretches  of  sand,  and  the  other  local  features 
mentioned  in  the  Sagas."  A  fresh  stimulus  is  thus  furnished 
to  Canadian  yachtsmen  to  combine  historical  exploration  with 
a  summer's  coasting  trip,  and  go  in  search  of  the  lost  Vinland. 
The  description  of  the  locality  that  furnished  the  data  from 
which  the  members  of  the  Ehode  Island  Historical  Society 
satisfied  themselves  as  to  the  identity  of  their  more  southern 
site  on  the  Pacasset  river,  has  to  be  kept  in  view  in  any 
renewed  inquiry.  At  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  the  oldest  and  most  trustworthy  narrative,  in  the 
Saga  of  Eric  the  Eed,  with  the  credited,  and  probably  genuine 
story  of  the  voyage  of  Karlsefne,  are  expanded,  in  the  Grren- 
lendingath^ttr,  into  five  voyages,  with  their  incidents  recast 
with  modifications  and  additions.  The  expedition  of  Leif 
Ericson,  and  his  accidental  discovery  of  Vinland,  and  the 
subsequent  attempt  at  colonisation  of  Karlsefne,  in  company 
with  Thorvald  and  Freydisa,  are  the  only  adventures  accredited 
by  the  oldest  tradition.  In  the  latter  narrative  it  is  stated 
that  "  they  sailed  for  a  long  time,  until  they  came  at  last  to  a 
river  which  flowed  down  from  the  land  into  a  lake,  and  so 
into  the  sea.  There  were  great  bars  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
so  that  it  could  only  be  entered  at  the  height  of  the  flood  tide. 


tts,  and  this 
must  plead 
b  -when  with 
our  learned 
.  Gudbrand 
lal  passages 
to  say  that 
jed  to  more 
Tom  Green- 
tig  more  or 
}  each,  they 
*rhence  they 
3re,  seem  to 
ence,  and  it 
raise  to  try 
days'  sail  of 
between  the 
ake  into  the 
)cal  features 
lis  furnished 
oration  with 
Dst  Vinland. 
data  from 
ical  Society 
southern 
lew  in  any 
be  over- 
tive,  in  the 
sly  genuine 
the  Grren- 
ents  recast 
ion  of  Leif 
and  the 
company 
accredited 
is  stated 
it  last  to  a 
ke,  and  so 
■  the  river, 
flood  tide. 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


63 


Q 


t 


Karlsefn  and  his  men  sailed  into  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  called  it  Hop,"  i.e.  a  land-locked  bay.  "  They  found  self- 
sown  wheat  fields  wherever  there  were  hollows,  and  where 
there  was  hilly  ground  there  were  vines."  Subsequent  de- 
scriptions are  obviously  based  on  this  account.  But  to  what- 
ever extent  the  description  of  the  locality  where  Thorvald, 
the  brother  of  Leif  Ericson,  was  killed  by  a  Skrseling  may 
have  been  suggested  by  that  narrative,  the  localities  are 
different.  It  was  apparently  in  the  spring  of  A.D.  1004  that 
Karlsefne  set  out  on  his  colonising  expedition.  The  voyagers 
sailed  along  Furdustrandir,  a  long,  low  sandy  coast,  till  they 
came  to  where  the  land  was  indented  with  creeks  and  inlets. 
There  they  steered  into  the  Straumsfjord,  to  a  spot  where 
Karlsefne  and  his  companions  spent  the  winter  of  a.d.  1005  ; 
and  where,  therefore,  we  may  assume  the  observations  to  have 
been  made  that  determined  the  length  of  the  day  in  Vinland 
at  the  winter  solstice.  The  narrative  of  noteworthy  incidents 
is  accompanied  with  topographical  details  that  have  to  be  kept 
in  view  in  any  attempt  at  recovering  traces  of  the  locality. 
There,  if  it  could  be  identified,  we  have  to  look  for  a  promon- 
tory answering  to  the  Krossanes,  or  promontory  of  the  crosses : 
the  spot  where  Thorvald  was  buried ;  and  as  would  seem  to  be 
implied,  where  a  cross  was  set  up  at  the  grave  mound.  The 
style  of  such  a  sepulchral  memorial  of  the  Northmen  at  a 
little  later  date  is  very  familiar  to  us.  The  discovery  on  some 
hitherto  unheeded  spot  of  the  Nova-Scotian  coast  of  a  bau- 
tastein,  graven  like  those  recovered  on  the  sites  of  the  old 
Greenland  colony,  would  be  an  invaluable  historical  record. 
It  might  be  expected  to  read  somewhat  in  this  fashion :  Leif 
mnr  Erikr  rautha  raisti  knis  thana  eftir  Thorvald  brothur 
sina.  But  there  is  slight  ground  for  imagining  that  the 
transient  visitors  from  Greenland  to  the  Canadian  shores  left 
any  more  lasting  memorial  of  the  tragic  event  that  reappears 
in  successive  versions  of  the  narrative  of  their  presence  there, 
than  a  wooden  grave-post,  or  uninscribed  headstone. 

One  other  element  in  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
strange  land  visited  by  the  Greenland  explorers  is  the  native 
population,  and  this  has  a  specific  interest  in  other  respects,  in 
addition  to  its  bearing  on  the  determination  of  a  Nova-Scotian 
site  for  "  Vineland  the  Good."     They  are  designated  Skrjelings 


if!  * : 
if  '.^ 


It 


i*     ;- 


in 


!!'  '. 


§M 


\m 


p.jii 


64 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


(Skraelingjar),  and  as  in  this  the  Greenland  voyagers  applied 
the  same  name  to  the  natives  of  Vinland  as  to  the  Greenland 
Eskimo,  it  has  been  assumed  that  both  were  of  the  same  race. 
But  the  term  "  skrseling  "  is  still  used  in  Norway  to  express  the 
idea  of  decrepitude,  or  physical  inferiority ;  and  probably  was 
used  with  no  more  definite  significance  than  our  own  word 
"  savage."  The  account  given  in  the  Saga  of  the  approach  of 
the  Skrselings  would  sufficiently  accord  with  that  of  a  Micmac 
flotilla  of  canoes.  Their  first  appearance  is  thus  described: 
"  While  looking  about  one  morning,  they  observed  a  great 
number  of  canoes.  On  exhibiting  friendly  signals  the  canoes 
approached  nearer  to  them,  and  the  natives  in  them  looked 
with  astonishment  at  those  they  met  there.  These  people 
were  sallow-coloured  and  ill-looking,  had  ugly  heads  of  hair, 
large  eyes  and  broad  cheeks."  The  term  skrceliiig  has  usually 
been  interpreted  "  dwarf,"  and  so  seemed  to  confirm  the  idea 
of  the  natives  having  been  Eskimo ;  but,  as  already  stated,  the 
word,  as  still  used  in  Norway,  might  mean  no  more  than  the 
inferiority  of  any  savage  race.  As  to  the  description  of  their 
features  and  complexion,  that  would  apply  equally  well  to  the 
red  Indian  or  the  Eskimo,  and  so  far  as  the  eyes  are  spoken 
of,  rather  to  the  former  than  the  latter.  More  importance 
may  be  attached  to  the  term  hudhkeipr  applied  to  their  canoes, 
which  is  more  a^-plicable  to  the  kayak,  or  skin-boat,  than  to 
the  birch-bark  canoe  of  the  Indian ;  but  the  word  was  probably 
loosely  used  as  applicable  to  any  savage  substitute  for  a  keel, 
or  built  boat. 

This  question  of  the  identification  of  the  Skreelings,  or 
natives,  whether  of  Nova  Scotia  or  New  England,  is  one  of 
considerable  ethnographic  significance.  The  speculations 
relative  to  the  possible  relationship  of  the  Eskimo  to  the 
post-glacial  cave-dwellers  of  the  Dordogne  valley,  and  their 
consequent  direct  descent  from  palaeolithic  European  man, 
confer  a  value  on  any  definite  evidence  bearing  on  their 
movements  in  intermediate  centuries.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  approximate  correspondence  of  the  Huron -Iroquois  of 
Canada  and  the  state  of  New  York  to  the  Eskimo  in  the 
dolichocephalic  type  of  skuU  common  to  both,  gives  an 
interest  to  any  evidence  of  the  early  presence  of  the  latter 
to  the  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence.     In  their  western  migrations 


;ers  applied 
J  Greenland 
J  same  race, 
express  the 
robably  was 
•  own  word 
approach  of 
if  a  Micmac 
}  described: 
red   a  great 
3  the  canoes 
hem  looked 
hese   people 
ads  of  hair, 
has  usually 
rm  the  idea 
y  stated,  the 
3re  than  the 
bion  of  their 
T  well  to  the 
!  are  spoken 
importance 
leir  canoes, 
oat,  than  to 
ras  probably 
for  a  keel, 

crselings,  or 
is  one  of 
speculations 
imo  to  the 
and  their 
opean  man, 
g  on  their 
other  hand, 
Iroquois  of 
imo  in  the 
,  gives  ail 
the  latter 
migrations 


TJ/E  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


6; 


-    -5*- 


the  Eskimo  attract  the  attention  of  the  ethnographer  as  the 
one  definite  ethnic  link  between  America  and  Asia.  They 
are  met  with,  as  detached  and  wandering  tribes,  across  the 
whole  continent,  from  Greenland  to  Behring  Strait.  Never- 
theless, they  appear  to  be  the  occupants  of  a  diminishing 
rather  than  an  expanding  area.  This  would  accord  with  the 
idea  of  their  area  extending  over  the  Canadian  maritime  pro- 
vinces, and  along  the  New  England  coast,  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury ;  and  possibly  as  indicating  the  early  home,  from  which 
tliey  were  being  driven  northv/ard  by  the  Huron-Iroquois  or 
other  assailants,  rather  than  implying  an  overflow  from  their 
Arctic  habitat.  Seal  hunting  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland, 
and  fishing  on  its  banks  and  along  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia, 
would  even  now  involve  no  radical  change  in  the  habits  of  the 
Eskimo.  It  was  with  this  hyperborean  race  that  the  Scandi- 
navian colonists  of  Greenland  came  in  contact  800  years 
ago,  and  by  them  that  they  were  exterminated  at  a  later 
date.  If  it  could  be  proved  that  the  SkrjElings  of  the  eleventh 
century,  found  by  the  Northmen  on  the  American  mainland, 
were  Eskimo,  it  would  furnish  the  most  conclusive  evidence 
that  the  red  Indians — whether  Micmac,  Millicet,  or  Hurons, 
— are  recent  intruders  there. 

In  any  process  of  aggression  of  the  native  American  race 
on  the  older  area  of  the  Eskimo,  some  intermixture  of  blood 
would  naturally  follow.  The  slaughter  of  the  males  in  battle, 
and  the  capture  of  women  and  children,  everywhere  leads  to 
a  like  result ;  and  this  seems  the  simplest  solution  of  the 
problem  of  the  southern  brachy cephalic,  and  the  northern 
dolichocephalic  type  of  head  among  native  American  races. 
When  the  sites  of  the  ancient  colonies  of  Greenland  were 
rediscovered  and  visited  by  the  Danes,  they  imagined  they 
could  recognise  in  the  physiognomy  of  some  of  the  Eskimo 
who  still  people  the  shores  of  Davis  Straits,  traces  of  ad- 
mixture between  the  old  native  and  the  Scandinavian  or 
Icelandic  blood.  Of  the  Greenland  colonies  the  Eskimo  had 
perpetuated  many  traditions,  referring  to  the  colonists  under 
the  native  name  of  Kablunet.  But  of  the  language  that  had 
been  spoken  among  them  for  centuries,  the  fact  is  highly 
significant  that  the  word  Kona,  used  by  them  as  a  synonym 
for  woman,  is    the    only  clearly  recognised    trace.     This    is 

F 


mti 


'I 


^W 


66 


THE   VJNLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


worthy  of  note,  in  considering  the  distinctive  character  of  the 
Eskimo  language,  and  its  comparison  with  the  Indian  languages 
of  the  North  American  continent.  It  has  the  feature  common 
to  nearly  all  the  native  languages  of  the  continent  north  of 
the  Mexican  Gulf  in  the  composite  character  of  its  words ;  so 
that  an  Eskimo  verb  may  furnish  the  equivalent  to  a  whole 
sentence  in  other  tongues.  But  what  is  specially  noteworthy 
is  that,  while  the  Huron -Iroquois,  the  Algonkin,  and  other 
Indian  families  of  languages  have  multiplied  widely  dissimilar 
dialects.  Dr.  Henry  Rink  has  shown  that  the  Eskimo  dialects 
of  Greenland  or  Labrador  differ  slightly  from  those  of  Behring 
Strait;  and  the  congeners  of  the  American  Eskimo,  who  have 
overflowed  into  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  taken  possession  of 
the  north-eastern  region  of  Asia,  perpetuate  there  nearly  allied 
dialects  of  the  parent  tongue.^  The  Alaskan  and  the  Tshugazzi 
peninsulas  are  in  part  peopled  by  Eskimo;  the  Konegan  of 
Kudjak  Island  belong  to  the  same  stock ;  and  all  the  dialects 
spoken  in  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the  supposed  highway  from 
Asia  to  America,  betray  in  like  manner  the  closest  affinities 
to  the  Arctic  Mongolidje  of  the  New  World.  They  thus 
appear  not  only  to  be  contributions  from  the  New  World  to 
the  Old,  but  to  be  of  recent  introduction  there.  If  the  cave- 
dwellers  of  Europe's  paleolithic  era  found  their  way  as  has 
been  suggested,  in  some  vastly  remote  age,  either  by  an 
eastern  or  a  western  route  to  the  later  home  of  the  Arctic 
Eskimo,  it  is  in  comparatively  modern  centuries  that  the  tide 
of  migration  has  set  westward  across  the  Behring  Strait,  and 
by  the  Aleutian  Islands,  into  Asia. 

The  reference  to  the  Skrsslings  in  the  first  friendly  inter- 
course of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne  and  his  companions  with  the 
natives,  and  their  subsequent  hostile  attitude,  ending  in  the 
death  of  Thorvald  Ericson,  has  given  occasion  to  this  digres- 
sion. But  the  question  thus  suggested  is  one  of  no  secondary 
interest.  If  we  could  certainly  determine  their  ethnical 
character  the  fact  would  be  of  great  significance ;  and  coupled 
with  any  well-grounded  determination  of  the  locality  where  the 
fatal  incident  occurred,  would  have  important  bearings  on 
American  ethnology.  The  description  of  the  sallow,  or  more 
correctly,  swarthy  coloured,  natives  with  large  eyes,  broad  cheek- 

^  Vide  Dr,  Brinton,  Races  and  Peoples,  p.  215  note. 


f 

i 

k 

,11  f 

THE   VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


67 


3ter  of  the 
1  languages 
re  common 
it  north  of 
words ;  so 
to  a  whole 
noteworthy 
and  other 
yr  dissimilar 
mo  dialects 
of  Behring 
),  who  have 
lossession  of 
learly  allied 
e  Tshugazzi 
Konegan  of 
the  dialects 
ghway  from 
jst  affinities 
They  thus 
w  "World  to 
If  the  cave- 
way  as  has 
;her   by    an 
the  Arctic 
Ihat  the  tide 
Strait,  and 

lendly  inter- 
Ins  with  the 
ling  in  the 
this  digres- 
[o  secondary 
jir    ethnical 
|and  coupled 
by  where  the 
bearings  on 
[ow,  or  more 
)road  cheek- 


li 
■A 


bones,  shaggy  hair,  and  forbidding  countenances  is  furnished 
in  the  Saga,  and  then  the  narrative  thus  proceeds :  "  After  the 
Skrailings  had  gazed  at  them  for  a  while,  they  rowed  away 
again  to  the  south-west  past  the  cape.  Karlsefne  and  his 
company  had  erected  their  dwelling-houses  a  little  above  the 
bay,  and  there  they  spent  the  winter.  No  snow  fell,  and  the 
cattle  found  their  food  in  the  open  field.  One  morning  early, 
in  the  beginning  of  1008,  they  descried  a  number  of  canoes 
coming  from  the  south-west  past  the  cape.  Karlsefne  having 
held  up  the  white  shield  as  a  friendly  signal,  they  drew  nigh 
and  immediately  commenced  bartering.  These  people  chose 
in  preference  red  cloth,  and  gave  furs  and  squirrel  skins  in 
exchange.  They  would  fain  also  have  bought  swords  and 
spears,  but  these  Karlsefne  and  Snorre  prohibited  their  people 
from  selling  to  them.  In  exchange  for  a  skin  entirely  gray 
the  Skroelings  took  a  piece  of  cloth  of  a  span  in  breadth,  and 
bound  it  round  their  heads.  Their  barter  was  carried  on  in 
this  way  for  some  time.  The  Northmen  then  found  that  their 
cloth  was  beginning  to  grow  scarce,  whereupon  they  cut  it  up 
in  smaller  pieces,  not  broader  than  a  finger's  breadth,  yet  the 
Skraelings  gave  as  much  for  these  smaller  pieces  as  they  had 
formerly  given  for  the  larger  ones,  or  even  more.  Karlsefne 
also  caused  the  women  to  bear  out  milk  soup,  and  the  Skraelings 
relishing  the  taste  of  it,  they  desired  to  buy  it  in  preference  to 
everything  else,  so  they  wound  up  their  Iraflic  by  carrying 
away  their  bargains  in  their  bellies.  Whi'ist  this  traffic  was 
going  on  it  happened  that  a  bull,  which  Kp.rlsefne  had  brought 
along  with  him,  came  out  of  the  wood  and  bellowed  loudly. 
At  this  the  Skraelings  got  terrified  and  rushed  to  their  canoes, 
and  rowed  away  southwards.  About  this  time  Gudrida, 
Karlsefue's  wife,  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  received  the  name 
of  Snorre.  In  the  beginning  of  tlie  following  winter  the 
Skraelings  came  again  in  much  greater  numbers ;  they  showed 
symptoms  of  hostility,  setting  up  loud  yells.  Karlsefne  caused 
the  red  shield  to  be  borne  against  them,  whereupon  they 
advanced  against  each  other,  and  a  battle  commenced.  There 
was  a  galling  discharge  of  missiles.  The  Fkrajlings  had  a  sort 
of  war  sling.  They  elevated  on  a  pole  a  tremendously  large 
ball,  almost  the  size  of  a  sheep's  stomach,  and  of  a  bluish 
colour;  this  they  swung  from  the  pole  over  Karlsefne's  people, 


vi  niT 


W 


I'Sf 


4i 


68 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


li 


m 


and  it  descended  with  a  fearful  crash.    This  struck  terror  into 
the  Northmen,  and  tlioy  tied  along  the  river." 

Tt  was  thus  apparent  that  in  spite  of  the  attractions  of  the 
forest -clad  land,  with  its  teniptinj,'  vines,  there  was  little 
prospect  of  peaceful  possession.  The  experience  of  these 
first  colonisers  differed  in  no  degree  from  that  of  the  later 
pioneers  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Xew  England.  Freydisa,  the 
natural  daughter  of  Eric,  whom  Thorvald  had  wedded,  is 
described  as  taunting  the  men  for  their  cowardice  in  giving 
way  before  such  miserable  caitiffs  as  the  Skra.'lings  or  sa\age 
natives,  and  vowing,  if  she  had  only  a  weapon,  shci  would  show 
better  fight.  "  She  accordingly  followed  them  into  the  wood. 
There  slie  encountered  a  dead  body.  It  was  Thorbrand 
Snorrason.  A  flat  stone  was  sticking  fast  in  his  head.  His 
naked  swoid  lay  by  liis  sid»'.  This  she  took  up,  "ud  prepared 
to  defend  herself.  She  uncovered  her  bren^ts  and  dashed  them 
against  the  naked  sword.  At  this  siglit  the  Skrselings  became 
terrified,  and  ran  off  to  their  canoes.  Karlsefne  and  the  rest 
now  came  up  to  her  and  praised  her  courage.  But  Karlsefne 
and  his  peoj  became  aware  that,  although  the  country  held 
out  many  advantages,  still  the  life  that  they  would  have  to 
lead  here  would  be  one  of  constant  alarm  from  the  hostile 
attacks  of  the  natives.  They  therefore  made  preparations  for 
departure  with  the  resolution  of  returning  to  their  own 
country."  To  us  the  attractions  of  a  Nova-Scotian  settlement 
might  seem  worth  encountering  a  good  many  such  assaults 
rather  than  retreat  to  the  ice-bound  shores  of  Greenland.  But 
it  was  "  their  own  country  "  ;  their  relatives  were  there.  Nor 
to  the  hardy  Northmen  did  its  climate,  or  that  of  Iceland, 
present  the  forbidding  aspect  which  it  would  to  us.  So  they 
returned  to  Brattalid,  carrying  back  with  them  an  evil  report 
of  the  land ;  and,  as  it  seems,  also  bringing  with  them  speci- 
mens of  its  natives.  For,  on  their  homeward  voyage,  they 
proceeded  round  Kialarnes,  and  then  were  hiven  to  the  north- 
west. "  The  land  lay  to  larboard  of  them.  There  were  thick 
forests  in  all  directions  as  far  as  they  could  see,  with  scarcely 
any  open  space.  They  considered  the  hills  at  Hope  and  those 
which  they  now  saw  as  forming  part  of  one  continuous  rangt*. 
They  spent  the  third  winter  at  Strea.'nfirth.  Karlsefne's  son 
Snorre  was  now  three  years  of  age.      When  they  sailed  froii 


THE   VINLAiXD  OF  THE  NORTH.\fEN' 


69 


terror  into 

ions  of  the 
was    little 

of  these 
F  the  later 
jydisa,  tlie 
wedded,  is 
e  in  ^'ivinj^ 
s  or  savage 
voiild  show 
)  the  wood. 

Thorbrand 
head.  His 
id  prepared 
ashed  tliem 
iigs  Lecaiiie 
md  the  rest 
it  Karlsefne 
ountiy  held 
lid  have  to 

the  hostile 
arations  for 

tlieir    own 

settlement 

ch  assaults 

dand.     But 
there.     Nor 

of  Iceland, 
So  they 

evil  report 
them  speci- 

lyage,  they 
the  north- 
were  thick 

^th  scarcely 
and  those 

luous  range. 

Isefne's  sou 

sailed  froii 


Vinland  they  had  southerly  wind,  and  camo  to  ]\larkland, 
where  they  mot  with  fne  Skrrelings.  They  caught  two  of 
them  (two  boys),  whom  they  canied  away  along  with  them, 
and  taugiit  (hem  the  Norse  language,  and  baptized  them ; 
these  children  said  that  their  mother  was  called  Vethilldi  and 
their  father  Uvaege.  They  "aid  that  the  Sknclings  were  ruled 
by  chieft  ins  (kings),  one  of  whom  wab  called  Avalldamon, 
and  the  other  Valdidida ;  that  there  were  no  houses  in  the 
country,  but  that  the  people  dwelled  in  holes  and  caverns." 

Thus  ended  tlie  abortive  enterprise  of  Thorfinu  and  hit* 
company  to  found,  in  the  eleventh  century,  a  colony  of  North- 
men on  the  American  mainland.  The  account  the  survivors 
brought  back  told  indeed  of  umbrageous  woodland  and  the 
tempting  vine.  But  the  forest  was  haunted  by  the  fierce 
Skrfelings,  and  its  coasts  open  to  assault  from  their  canoes. 
To  the  race  that  wrested  Normandy  from  the  C'arlovingian 
Frank,  and  established  its  jarldoms  in  Orkney,  Caithness,  and 
Northumbria,  such  a  foe  might  well  be  deemed  contemptible. 
But  the  degenerate  Franks,  and  the  Angles  of  Northumbria, 
tempted  the  Norse  marauder  with  costly  spoils ;  and  only 
after  repeated  successful  expeditions  awakened  the  desire  to 
settle  in  the  land  and  make  there  new  homes.  Alike  to 
explorers  seeking  for  themselves  a  'lome,  and  to  adventurers 
coveting  the  victors'  spoils,  the  Vinland  of  the  Northmen 
offered  no  adequate  temptation,  and  so  its  traditions  faded  out 
of  memory,  or  were  recalled  only  as  the  legend  of  a  fabulous 
age.  At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  'Montreal 
in  1884  Mr.  R  G.  Halliburton  read  a  paper  entitled  "A 
Search  in  British  North  America  for  lost  Colonies  of  Nortl  men 
and  Portuguese."  Documents  were  quoted  by  him  showing 
that  from  a.d,  1500  to  1570  commissions  were  regularly 
issued  to  the  Corte  Eeals  and  their  successors.  Cape  Breton 
was  colonised  by  them  in  1521;  and  when  Portugal  became 
annexed  to  tjpain  in  1680,  and  Terra  Nova  passed  with  it 
to  lier  rule,  she  sent  colonists  to  settle  there.  The  site  which 
they  occupied,  Mr.  Halliburton  traced  (o  Spanish  Harbour 
(Sydney),  Cape  Breton,  and  this  he  claimed  to  be  the  earliest 
European  settlement  in  North  America.  For,  as  for  the 
Northmen's  reputed  explorations  and  attempt  at  settlement,  his 
verdict  is  thus  briefly  summed  up :  "  When  we  can  discover 


rrr- 


1     ., 

r 

\'i  III 


in:; 


I  ^     ' 


70 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


Greenland's  verdant  mountains  we  can  also  hope  to  find  the 
vine-ulad  hills  of  Vineland  the  Good."  That,  however,  is  too 
summary  a  dismissal  of  evidence  which,  if  vague,  is  to  every 
appearance  based  on  authorities  as  seemingly  authentic  and 
trustworthy  as  those  on  which  many  details  of  the  history  of 
early  centuries  rest.  It  would  manifestly  be  unwise  to  dis- 
countenance further  inquiry  by  any  such  sweeping  scepticism, 
or  to  discourage  the  hope  that  local  research  may  yet  be  re- 
warded by  evidence  confirmatory  of  the  reputed  visit  of  Thorfinn 
and  his  fellow -explorers  to  some  recognisable  point  on  the 
Nova-Scotian  coast. 

The  diligent  research  of  scholars  familiar  with  the  Old 
Norse,  in  which  the  Sagas  are  written,  is  now  clearing  this 
inquiry  into  reputed  pre-Columbian  discovery  and  colonisation 
of  much  misapprehension.  The  extravagant  assumptions  alike 
of  earlier  Danish  and  New  England  antiquaries  in  dealing  with 
the  question  were  provocative  of  an  undue  bias  of  critical 
scepticism.  The  American  historian  Bancroft  gave  form  to 
this  tendency  when  he  affirmed  that  "  the  story  of  the  colonisa- 
tion of  America  by  Northmen  rests  on  narratives  mythological 
in  form  and  obscure  in  meaning ;  ancient,  yet  not  contem- 
porary." If  the  historian  had  adduced  in  evidence  of  this  the 
story  of  the  Eyrbyggia  Saga,  and  the  later  amplifications  of 
reputed  voyages  to  "  White  Man's  Land,"  and  to  "  Newland," 
his  language  w^ould  have  been  pardonable.  Of  the  later  fic- 
titious Sagas  are  the  Landvsetta-sogur ;  Stories  of  the  guardian- 
spii'its  of  the  land ;  and  the  Saga  of  Halfdan  Eysteinsson,  from 
which  we  learn  that  "  Eaknar  brought  the  deserts  of  Heluland 
under  his  rule,  and  destroyed  all  the  giants  there " ;  or  again 
we  have  the  Saga  of  "  Barthar  Sneefellsass,"  or  the  Snow-fell 
God,  and  the  King  Dumbr  of  Dumbshaf.  But  all  such 
mythical  Sagas  belong  to  later  Icelandic  and  Norwegian  litera- 
ture, and  have  no  claim  to  historical  value. 

The  genuine  documentary  evidence  of  Vinland  is  recover- 
able from  manuscripts  of  earlier  date,  and  a  widely  different 
character.  Had  Bancroft  been  familiar  with  the  early  Icelandic 
Sagas  he  could  never  have  spoken  of  them  as  mythological. 
They  are,  on  the  contrary,  distinguished  by  their  presentation 
of  events  in  an  extremely  simple  and  literal  manner ;  equally 
free  from  rhetorical  embellishment  and  the  extravagances  of 


1 

'ft 
4 


•ii 

•I 


i 


^ 


THE  V INLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


71 


0  find  the 
ver,  is  too 
3  to  every 
leiitic  and 
liistory  of 
Ise  to  dis- 
scepticisni, 
yet  be  re- 
af  Thorfiuu 
int  on  the 

h  the  Old 
Baring  this 
:olonisation 
)tions  alike 
ealing  with 
of  critical 
ve  form  to 
tie  colonisa- 
lythological 
ot  conteni- 
of  this  tlie 
fications  of 
'  Newland," 
le  later  fic- 
e  guardian- 
nsson,  from 
■  Heluland 
or  again 
e  Snow-fell 
all    such 
gian  litera- 
ls recover- 
ly  different 
y  Icelandic 
ythological. 
)resentation 
3r;  equally 
^agances  of 


'Sf- 


the  romancer.  lint  the  occupation  of  the  new-found  laud 
was  brief;  and  as  the  tale  of  its  explorers  faded  from  the 
memory  of  younger  generations,  fancy  toyed  with  the  legend 
of  a  sunny  land  of  the  Vine,  with  its  self-sown  fields  of 
ripened  grain.  At  a  later  date  Greenland  itself  vanished  from 
the  ken  of  living  men ;  and  romance  sported  with  the  fancies 
suggested  by  its  name  as  a  fertile  oasis  of  green  pastures 
walled  in  by  the  ice  and  snows  of  its  Arctic  zone. 

The  first  authentic  reference,  now  recoverable,  to  Vinland 
the  Good  has  already  been  referred  to.  It  occurs  in  a  passage 
in  the  Isclandiwja  Vdk,  by  Ari  Thorgilsson,  the  oldest  Icelandic 
historiographer.  Ari,  surnamed  froSi,  or  the  learned,  was  born 
A.D.  10G7,  and  survived  till  1148.  The  earliest  manuscript 
of  the  Saga  of  Eric  the  Eed  dates  as  late  as  a.d.  1330.  It 
is  contained  in  the  Arna  Magniean  Codex,  commonly  known  as 
Hanks  Vdk.  Hauk  Erlendsson,  to  whom  the  preservation 
of  this  copy  of  the  original  Saga  is  due,  and  by  whom  part 
of  it  appears  to  have  been  written,  has  appended  to  the  manu- 
script a  genealogy,  in  which  he  traces  his  descent  from  the 
son  of  Karlsefne,  born  in  Vinland.  Two  versions  of  tlie 
narrative  have  been  preserved,  differing  only  in  slight  details  ; 
and  of  those  Eee\  as  says :  "  They  afford  the  most  graphic  and 
succinct  exposition  of  the  discovery ;  and,  supported  as  they 
are  throughout  by  contemporary  history,  appear  in  every 
respect  most  worthy  of  credence."  ^  The  simple,  unadorned 
narrative  bears  out  the  idea  that  it  is  a  manuscript  of  in- 
formation derived  from  the  statements  of  the  actual  explorers. 
The  later  story  of  Barni  Herjulfson, — an  obvious  amplification 
of  the  original  narrative,  with  a  change  of  names,  and  many 
spurious  additions, — occurs  in  the  Flatey  Book,  a  manuscript 
written  before  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  the 
'Northmen  of  the  Scandinavian  fatherland  were  reawakeninsr 
to  an  interest  in  the  memories  or  traditions  of  early  voyages, 
to  strange  lands  beyond  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  fashioning 
them  into  legend  and  romance. 

The  poet,  William  Morris,  represents  the  Vikings  of  the 
fourteenth  century  following  the  old  leadings  of  Leif  Ericson 
in  search  of  the  earthly  paradise  : — 

^  Arthur  Middleton  Reeves,  Finding  of  Wineland  the  Good,  p.  28. 


■*>!     ■ 


h 


'-I'  ■            ■ 

1'  .  ' 

li! 

72  THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 

That  desired  gate  . 

To  immortality  and  blessed  rest 
Within  the  landless  waters  of  the  West. 

The  time  chosen  is  that  of  England's  Edward  III.,  and,  still 
more,  of  England's  Chaucer.  But  in  reality  all  memory  of  the 
land  which  lay  beyond  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  had  faded 
as  utterly  from  the  minds  of  Europe's  mariners,  in  that  four- 
teenth century,  as  in  the  older  days  when  Plato  restored  a 
lost  Atlantis  to  give  local  habitation  to  his  ideal  Republic. 
When  the  idea  revived  in  the  closing  years  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  not  as  a  philosophic  dream,  but  as  a  legitimate  in- 
duction of  science,  the  reception  which  it  met  with  from  the 
embodied  wisdom  of  that  age,  curiously  illustrates  the  common 
experience  of  the  pioneers  in  every  path  of  novel  discovery. 

To  Coluiiibus,  with  his  well-defined  faith  in  the  form  of 
the  earth  which  gave  him  confidence  to  steer  boldly  westward 
in  search  of  the  Asiatic  Cipango :  the  existence  of  a  continent 
beyond  the  Atlantic  was  no  mere  possibility.  So  early,  at 
least,  as  1474  he  had  conceived  the  design  of  reaching  Asia 
by  sailing  to  <-he  West;  and  in  that  year  he  is  known  to 
have  expounded  his  plans  to  Paolo  Toscanelli,  the  learned 
Florentine  physician  and  cosmographer,  and  to  have  received 
from  him  hearty  encouragement.  Assuming  the  world  to 
be  a  sphere,  he  fortunately  erred  alike  in  under-estimating 
its  size,  and  in  over-estimating  the  extent  to  which  the 
continent  of  Asia  stretched  eastward.  In  this  way  he 
diminished  the  distance  between  the  coasts  of  Europe  and 
Asia ;  and  so,  when  at  length  he  sighted  the  new-found  land 
of  the  West,  so  far  from  dreaming  of  another  ocean  wider  than 
the  Atlantic  between  him  and  the  object  of  his  quest,  he 
unhesitatingly  designated  the  natives  of  Guanahani,  or  San 
Salvador,  "  Indians,"  iii  the  confident  belief  that  this  was  an 
outlying  coast  of  Asiatic  India.  Nor  was  his  reasoning 
unsound.  He  sought,  and  would  have  found,  a  western  route 
to  that  old  east  by  the  very  track  he  followed,  had  no 
j\.merican  continent  intervened.  It  was  not  till  his  third 
>royage  that  the  great  Admiral  for  the  first  time  beheld  the 
new  continent, — not  indeed  the  Asiatic  mainland,  nor  even 
the  northern  continent, — but  the  embouchures  of  the  Orinoco 
river,  with  its  mighty  volume  of  fiesh  water,  proving  beyond 


—¥^ 


^m 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


n 


I.,  and,  still 
ntiory  of  the 
had  faded 
L  that  four- 
restored  a 
,1  Eepublic. 
he  fifteenth 
gitimate  in- 
,h  from  the 
ihe  common 
iscovery. 
:he  form  of 
ly  westward 
a  continent 
50   early,  at 
laching  Asia 
3  known  to 
the  learned 
ive  received 
e  world   to 
r-estimating 
which    the 
is    way   he 
Europe   and 
found  land 
wider  than 
quest,  he 
mi,  or  San 
,his  was  an 
reasoning 
jstern  route 
id,  had    no 
1  his   third 
beheld  the 
nor  even 
he  Orinoco 
ing  beyond 


dispute  that  it  drained  an  area  of  vast  extent,  and  opened  up 
access  far  into  the  interior  of  a  new  world. 

Columbus  hud  rer.lised  his  utmost  anticipations,  and  died 
in  the  belief  that  he  had  reached  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia. 
Yor  is  the  triumph  in  any  degree  lessened  by  this  assumption. 
The  dauntless  navigator,  pushing  on  ever  westward  into  the 
■  mysterious  ^vaters  of  the  unexplored  Atlantic  in  search  of  the 
old  East,  presents  one  of  the  most  marvellous  examples  of  in- 
telligent faith  that  science  can  adduce.  To  estimate  all  that 
it  implied,  we  have  to  turn  back  to  a  period  when  his 
unaccomplished  r)urpose  rested  solely  on  that  sure  and  well- 
grounded  faith  in  the  demonstrations  of  science. 

In  the  city  of  Sah>'aanca  there  assembled  in  the  Dominican 

convent  of  San  Esteban,  in  the  year   1487,  a  learned  and 

orthodo::  conclave,  summoned  by  Prior  Fernando  de  Talavera, 

,  to    pronounce    judgment    on    the    theory    propounded     by 

Columbus ;  and  to  decide  whether  in  that  most  catholic  of 

Christian   kingdoms,   on   the   very  eve    of    its  final    triumph 

\  over  the  infidel,  it  was  a  permissible  belief  that  the  Western 

World  had  even  a  possible  existence.     Columbus  set  before 

%  them  the  scientific  demonstration  which  constituted  for  himself 

1  indisputable  evidence  of  an  ocean  highway  across  the  Atlantic 

-  to  the  continent  beyond.     The  clerical  council  included  pro- 

'  fessors   of  mathematics,   astronomy,  and    geog:uphy,   as   well 

,|  as  other  learned  friars  and  dignitaries  of  the  Church :  prob- 

%ably  as  respectable  an  assemblage  of  cloister -bred  pedantry 

*f;and    orthodox    conservatism  as   that  fifteenth  century   could 

'    produce.     Philosophical  deductions  were  parried  by  a  quota- 

'  tion  from   St.   Jerome   or  St.  Augustine ;   and   mathematical 

demonstrations  by  a  figurative  text  of  Scripture ;  and  in  spite 

alike  of  the  science  and  the  devout  religious  spirit  of  Columbus, 

the  divines  of  Salamanca  pronounced  the  idea  of  the  earth's 

spherical    form  to   be    heterodox;    and   declared   a  belief   in 

antipodes  incompatible  with  the  historical   traditions  of  the 

I  Christian    faith:    since   to   assert   that   there   were  inhabited 

lands  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe  would  be  to  maintain 

I  that  there  were  nations  not  descended  from  Adam,  it  beinsr 

impossible  for  them  to  have  passed  the  intervening  ocean. 

It  may  naturally  excite  a   smile   to  thus   find  the  very 
ethnological  problem  of  this  nineteenth  century  thus  dogmat- 


■  It  ^il'jjll 


74 


THE    VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


ically  produced  four  centuries  ea^-lier  to  prove  that  America 
was  an  impossibility.  But  in  reality  this  ethnological  pro- 
blem long  continued  in  all  ways  to  affect  the  question. 
Among  the  various  evidences  which  Columbus  adduced  in 
confirmation  cf  his  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  continent 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  was  the  report  brought  to  him  by  his 
own  brother-in-law,  Pedro  Correa,  that  the  bodies  of  two 
dead  men  had  been  cast  ashore  on  the  island  of  Flores, 
differing  essentially  from  any  known  race,  "very  broad-faced, 
and  diverse  in  aspect  from  Christians " ;  and,  in  truth,  the 
more  widely  they  differed  from  all  familiar  Christian 
humanity,  the  more  probable  did  their  existence  appear  to 
the  men  of  that  fifteenth  century.  Hence  Shakespeare's 
marvellous  creation  of  his  Caliban.  Upwards  of  a  century 
and  half  had  then  elapsed  since  Columbus  returned  with  the 
news  of  a  world  beyond  the  Western  Ocean ;  yet  still  to  the 
men  of  Shakespeare's  day,  the  strange  regions  of  which 
Columbus,  Amerigo  Vespucci,  Gomara,  Lane,  Harriot,  and 
Ealeigh  wrote,  seemed  more  fitly  occupied  by  Calibans,  and 
the  like  rude  approximations  to  humanity,  than  by  men  and 
women  in  any  degree  akin  to  ourselves.  Othello  indeed  only 
literally  reproduces  Ealeigh's  account  of  a  strange  people 
on  the  Caoro,  in  Guiana.  He  had  not,  indeed,  himself  got 
sight  of  those  marvellous  Ewaipanoma,  though  anxious  enough 
to  do  so.  Their  eyes,  as  reported,  were  in  their  shoulders, 
and  their  mouths  in  the  middle  of  their  breasts.  But  the 
truth  could  not  be  doubted,  since  every  child  in  the  provinces 
of  Arromaia  and  Canuri  affirmed  the  same.  The  founder  of 
Virginia,  assuredly  one  of  the  most  sagacious  men  of  that 
wise  Elizabethan  era,  and  with  all  the  experience  which  travel 
supplies,  reverts  again  and  again  to  this  strange  new -world 
race,  as  to  a  thing  of  which  he  entertained  no  doubt.  The 
designation  of  Shakespeare's  Caliban,  is  but  an  anagram  of 
the  epithet  which  Ealeigh  couples  with  the  specific  designation 
of  those  monstrous  dwellers  on  the  Caoro.  "To  the  west  of 
Caroli,"  he  says,  "  are  divers  nations  of  Cannibals,  and  of  those 
Ewaipanoma  without  heads."  Of  "such  men,  whose  head 
stood  in  their  breasts,"  Gonsalo,  in  live  Tempest,  reminds 
his  companions,  as  a  tale  which  every  voyager  brings  back 
"good    warrant    of";    and    so    it    was    in   all   honesty    that 


at  America 
logical  pro- 
e    question, 
adduced    in 
1   continent 
tiim  by  his 
ies  of   two 
of  riores, 
broad-faced, 
L  truth,  the 
:    Christian 
3  appear  to 
bakespeare's 
[  a  century 
ed  with  the 
still  to  the 
,    of    which 
[arriot,   and 
alibans,  and 
)y  men  and 
indeed  only 
mge   people 
himself  got 
ious  enough 
shoulders, 
But  the 
le  provinces 
3  founder  of 
len  of  that 
i^hich  travel 
new -world 
oubt.     The 
anagram  of 
designation 
the  west  of 
,nd  of  those 
vhose   head 
st,   reminds 
3rings  back 
mesty    that 


THE  FINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


75 


Othello  entertained  Desdemoua  with  the  story  of  his  adven- 
tures: — 

Of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field  .  .  . 

And  of  the  Cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 

The  Anthropoiihagi  and  men  whose  heads 

Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders. 

The  idea  of  an  island-world  lying  in  some  unexplored 
ocean,  apart  from  the  influences  which  affect  humanity  at 
large,  with  beings,  institutions,  and  a  civilisation  of  its  o\vn, 
had  been  the  dream  of  very  diverse  minds.  When  indeed  we 
recall  what  the  rude  Norse  galley  of  Eric  the  Red  must  have 
been ;  and  what  the  little  "  Pinta "  and  the  "  Nina "  of 
Columbus — the  latter  with  a  crew  of  only  twenty-four  men, 
— actually  were;  and  remember,  moreover,  that  the  pole  star 
was  the  sole  compass  of  the  earlier  explorer;  there  seems 
nothing  iu.probable  in  the  assumption  that  the  more  ancient 
voyagers  from  the  Mediterranean,  who  claimed  to  have 
circumnavigated  Africa,  and  were  familiar  with  the  islands  of 
the  Atlantic,  may  have  found  their  way  to  the  great  continent 
which  lay  beyond.  Vague  intimations,  derived  seemingly 
from  Egypt,  encouraged  the  belief  in  a  submerged  island  or 
continent,  once  the  seat  of  arts  and  learning,  afar  on  the 
Atlantic  main.  The  most  definite  narrative  of  this  vanished 
continent  is  that  already  referred  to  as  recorded  in  the 
Timccus  of  Plato,  on  the  authority  of  an  account  which 
Solon  had  received  from  an  Egyptian  priest.  According  to 
the  latter  the  temple-records  of  the  Nile  preserved  the  tradi- 
tions of  times  reaching  back  far  beyond  the  infantile  fables  of 
the  Greeks.  Yet,  even  these  preserved  some  memory  of 
deluges  and  convulsions  by  which  the  earth  had  been 
revolutionised.  In  one  of  them  the  vast  Island  of  Atlantis — 
a  continent  larger  than  Libj^a  and  Asia  conjoined, — had  been 
engulfed  in  the  ocean  which  bears  its  name.  This  ocean- 
world  of  fancy  or  tradition,  Plato  revived  as  the  seat  of  his 
imaginary  commonwealth ;  and  it  had  not  long  become  a 
world  of  fact  when  Sir  Thomas  More  made  it  anew  the  seat  of 
his  famous  Utopia,  the  exemplar  of  "  the  best  state  and  form 
of  a  public  weale."  "  Unfortunately,"  as  the  author  quaintly 
puts  it,  "  neither  we  remembered  to  inquire  of  Raphael,  the 
companion  of  Amerike  Vespuce  on  his  third  voyage,  nor  he  to 


f,. 


76 


TBE  VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


tell  us  in  wliat  part  of  the  new  world  Utopia  is  situate  " :  and 
so  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  locate  the  seat  of 
this  perfect  commonwealth  within  the  young  Canadian 
Dominion,  so  soon  as  it  shall  have  merited  this  by  the  attain- 
ment of  such  Utopian  perfectibility  in  its  polity. 

But  it  is  not  less  curioas  to  note  the  tardiness  with  which, 
after  the  discc  very  oi'  the  New  World  had  been  placed  beyond 
question,  its  fa  ue  sigiificance  was  comprehended  even  by  men 
of  culture,  and  abreast  of  the  general  knowledge  of  their  time. 
Peter  Giles,  indeed,  citizen  of  Antwerp,  and  assumed  confidant 
of  "Master  More,"  writes  with  well-simulated  grief  to  the 
Right  Hon.  Counsellor  Hierome  Buslyde,  "as  touching  the 
situation  of  the  island,  that  is  to  say,  in  what  part  of  the 
world  Utopia  standeth,  the  ignorance  and  lack  whereof  not  a 
little  troubleth  and  grieveth  Master  More " ;  but  as  he  had 
allowed  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining  this  important  fact  to 
slip  by,  so  the  like  uncertainty  long  after  mystified  current 
ideas  regarding  the  new-found  world.  Ere  the  "  Flowers  of 
the  Forest "  had  been  weeded  away  on  Flodden  Hill,  the 
philosophers  and  poets  of  the  liberal  court  of  James  IV. 
of  Scotland  had  learned  in  some  vague  way  of  the  recent 
discovery ;  and  so  the  Scottish  poet,  Dunbar,  reflecting  on  the 
King's  promise  of  a  benefice  still  unfulfilled,  hints  in  his  poem 
"  Of  the  world's  instabilitie,"  that  even  had  it  come  "  fra 
Calicut  and  the  new-found  Isle "  that  lies  beyond  "  the  great 
sea-ocean,  it  might  have  coitien  in  shorter  while."  Upwards 
of  twenty  years  liad  passed  since  the  return  of  the  great 
discoverer  from  his  adventurous  voyage ;  but  the  Novus  Orhis 
was  then,  and  long  atlerwartls  continueil  to  be,  an  in- 
substantial fancy ;  for  after  nearly  anolliet  twenty  years  had 
elapsed,  Sir  Paviil  tiuaany,  In  his  Dreme,  represents  Dame 
llemembrauce  as  his  g  u  1  amt  InsciUotul'  In  all  heavenly  and 
earthly  knowledge  ;  ahd  amnjig  the  rest,  he  says  : — 

She  part  me  clearly  understand 

II       lliitl  t|i«  Eurth  tripartite  was  in  three  ; 

(a  AUlu,  EllK)|ye,  and  Asie  ; 


If:?' 


the  latter  being  in  the  Orient,  while  Africa  and  Europe  still 
constituted  the  Occident,  or  western  world.  Many  famous 
isles  situated  in  "the  ocean-sea"  r'"     r''-tr.?<^t  his  notice ;  but 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


77 


ate  "  :  and 

he  seat  of 

Canadian 

the  attain- 

nt\\  which, 
3ed  beyond 
en  by  men 
their  time, 
d  confidant 
rief  to  the 
iiching    the 
aart  of  the 
lereof  not  a 
as  he  had 
;ant  fact  to 
ied  current 
'  Flowers  of 
1   Hill,  the 
James   IV. 
1  the  recent 
ing  on  the 
n  his  poem 
come    "  fra 
"the  great 
Upwards 
the  great 
^ovus  Orhis 
oe,    an  in- 
years  had 
nts  Dame 
lavenly  and 


■  V 


|urope  still 

Tiy  famous 

loiice ;  but 


"  the  new-found  isle "  of  the  elder  poet  had  obviously  faded 
from  the  memory  of  that  younger  generation. 

Another  century  had  nearly  run  its  course  since  the  eye  of 
Columbus  beheld  the  long-expected  land,  when,  in  1590, 
Edmund  Spenser  crossed  the  Irish  Channel,  bringing  with  him 
the  first  three  books  of  his  Faerie  Queen ;  in  tlie  introduction 
to  the  second  of  which  he  thus  defends  the  verisimilitude  of 
that  land  of  fancy  in  which  the  scenes  of  his  "  famous  antique 
history "  are  laid : —    ^       ^;   -    '  w 

Who  ever  heard  of  th'  Indian  Peru  ? 
'  Or  who  in  venturous  vessel  measured 

The  Amazon,  huge  river,  now  found  true? 
Or  fruitfuUest  Virginia  who  did  ever  view  1 

Yet  all  these  were,  when  no  man  did  them  know, 

Yet  have  from  wisest  ages  hidden  been  ; 
And  later  times  things  more  unknowne  shall  show. 

Why  then  should  witless  man  so  much  misween 
That  nothing  is  but  that  which  he  hath  seen  1 

What  if  within  the  moon's  fair  shining  sphere  ; 
What  if  in  every  other  star  unseen, 

Of  other  worlds  he  happily  should  hear  ? 
He  wonder  would  much  more  ;  yet  such  to  some  appear." 

Ealeigh,  the  discoverer  of  Virginia,  was  Spenser's  special 
friend,  his  "  Shepherd  of  the  Ocean,"  the  patron  under 
whose  advice  the  poet  visited  Eno^land  with  the  first  instal- 
ment of  the  Epic,  which  he  dedicated  to  Queen  Elizabeth, 
"  to  live  with  the  eternit)''  of  her  Fame."  Yet  it  is  obvious 
that  to  Spenser's  fancy  this  w  astern  continent  was  then 
scarcely  more  substantial  than  his  own  Faerie  land.  In  truth 
it  was  still  almost  as  much  a  world  apart  us  if  Kaleigh  and  his 
adventurous  crew  had  sailed  up  the  blue  vault  of  heaven,  and 
brought  back  the  story  of  another  planet  on  which  it  had 
been  their  fortune  to  alight. 

Nor  had  such  fancies  wholly  vanished  long  after  the 
voyage  across  the  Atlantic  had  become  a  familiar  thing.  It 
was  in  1  723  that  the  philosophical  idealist,  Berkeley, — after- 
wards Bishop  of  Cloyne, — formulated  a  more  definite  and  yet 
not  less  visionary  Utopia  than  that  of  Sir  Thomas  More.  He 
was  about  to  organise  "  among  the  English  in  our  Western 
plantations "  a  seminary  which  was  designed  to  train  the 
young  American  savages,  make  theju  Masters  of  Aris,  ana  fit 


wrrr 


I)  s^. 


( 

'I 

I 

J! 


78 


THE  VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


instruments  for  the  regenerat'ni  of  their  own  people;  while 

iplish  no  less  for  the  reforma- 


tlie  new  Academe  was  to  acc» 
tion  of  manners  and  morals  o.nong  his  own  race.  In  his 
fancy's  choice  he  gave  a  preference,  at  first  for  Bermuda,  or 
the  Summer  Islands,  as  the  site  of  his  college ;  and  "  presents 
tlie  bright  vision  of  an  academic  home  in  those  fair  lands  of 
the  West,  whose  idyllic  bliss  poets  had  sung,  from  which 
Christian  civilisation  might  be  made  to  radiate  over  this 
vast  continent  with  its  magnificent  possibilities  in  the  future 
history  of  the  race  of  man."  It  was  while  his  mind  was 
preoccupied  with  this  fine  ideal  "of  planting  Arts  and 
Learning  in  America  "  that  he  wrote  the  well-known  lines  : — 


iiiii 


I  ^ 


There  shall  be  sung  another  golden  age, 

The  rise  of  empire  and  of  arts  ; 
The  good  and  great  inspiring  epic  rage, 

The  wisest  heads  and  noblest  hearts. 

Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay : 
S'  ch  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 

When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  clay, 
By  future  poets  shall  be  sung. 

Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way ; 

The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day ; 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last. 

The  visionary  philosopher  followed  up  his  project  so  far  as 
to  transport  liimself — not  to  the  Summer  Islands  of  which 
Waller  had  sung, — but  to  that  same  Rhode  Island  which 
Danish  and  New  England  antiquaries  were  at  a  later  date  to 
identify,  whether  rightly  or  not,  as  the  Vinland  of  the  Icelandic 
Sagas.  One  of  these  ancient  chroniclers  had  chanced  to  note 
that,  on  the  shortest  day  of  the  year  in  Vinland,  they  had  the 
sun  above  the  horizon  at  eykt  and  dagmat ;  that  is  at  their 
regular  evening  and  morning  meal.  Like  our  own  term 
breakfast,  the  names  were  significant  and  allusive.  The  old 
Icelandic  poet,  Snorro  Sturluson,  author  of  the  Edda  and  the 
Sagas  of  the  Norwegian  Kings,  has  left  ou  record  that  at  his 
Icelandic  home  eykt  occurred  at  sunset  on  the  first  day  of 
winter.  Professor  Rafii  hailed  this  old  record  as  the  key  to 
the  latitude  of  Vinland.     The  Danish  King,  Frederick  VI., 


^J 


K': 


THE   VINLAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


79 


»ple ;  while 

be  reforma- 

je.     In  his 

Jermuda,  or 

1  "  presents 

lir  lands  of 

from  which 

over    this 

1  the  future 

mind  was 

Arts    and 

m  lines : — 


set  so  far  as 

is  of  which 

laud    which 

later  date  to 

he  Icelandic 

Iced  to  note 

^ley  had  the 

is  at  their 

own    term 

,     The  old 

Ida  and  the 

that  at  his 

first  day  of 

the  key  to 

dcrick  VT., 


sympathising  in  researches  that  reflected  back  honour  on  their 
Norse  ancestry,  called  in  the  aid  of  the  Astronomer  Royal ; 
and  Professor  Rafn  felt  authorised  forthwith  to  instruct  the 
Rhode  Island  antiquaries  that  the  latitude  of  the  long-lost 
Vinland  was  near  Newport,  in  Na  vagansett  Bay.  Their 
response,  with  the  authenticating  engravings  of  the  world- 
famous  Newport  stone  mill,  and  the  runes  of  Thorfinn  on 
Dighton  Rock,  in  Rafn's  learned  quarto  volume,  have  been 
the  source  of  many  a  later  comment,  both  in  prose  and 
rhyme.  ■  .  ^^      ' 

But  all  this  lay  in  a  still  remote  future  when,  in  IT  ?8, 
Berkeley  landed  at  Rhode  Island  with  projects  not  unsuited  to 
the  dream  of  a  Vinland  the  Good,  where  a  university  was  to 
be  reared  as  a  centre  of  culture  and  regeneration  for  the 
aborigines  of  the  New  "World.  The  indispensable  pre- 
requisite of  needful  funds  had  been  promised  him  by  the 
[English  Government;  but  the  promised  grant  was  never 
jrealised.  Meanwhile  he  bought  a  farm,  the;  purposed 
[site  perliaps  of  his  beneficent  centre  of  intellectual  life  fur 
ithe  Island  state,  and  sojourntnl  there  for  three  years  in 
pleasant  seclusion,  leaving  behind  liini  kindly  memories  that 
endeared  him  to  many  friends.  He  planned,  if  he  did 
not  realise  many  goodly  Utopias ;  speculated  (iji  space  and 
time,  and  objective  idealism ;  and  then  bad  farewell  to  Rhode 
Island,  and  to  his  romantic  dream  of  regenerated  savages  and 
a  renovated  world.  Soon  after  his  return  home  the  practical 
fruits  of  his  quiet  sojourn  beyond  the  Atlantic  appeared  in 
the  form  of  his  Alciiyliron :  or.  the  Minute  Philosopher ;  in  which, 
in  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  he  discusses  the  varied  forms  of 
speculative  scepticism,  at  the  very  period  when  Pope  was 
embodying  in  his  Essay  on  Man  the  brilliant,  but  superficial 
philosophy  which  constituted  the  essence  of  thought  for  men 
of  the  world  in  his  age.  It  is  in  antithesis  to  such  specula- 
tions that  Berkeley  there  advances  his  own  theory,  designed  to 
show  that  all  nature  is  the  language  of  God,  everywhere 
giving  expresMBve  utwr/ance  to  the  Divine  thought. 

So  long  an  ti>^.  American  continent  lay  half  revealed  in  its 
vague  obscurity,  as  a  new  world  lying  beyond  the  Atlanttt;, 
and  wholly  apart  fr  >m  the  old,  it  seemed  the  fitting  site  for 
imagiuury  Vinlaads,   Utopias,  Summer   Islands,  and    earthly 


8d 


THE  VI N LAND  OF  THE  NORTHMEN 


paradises  of  all  sorts :  the  scenes  of  a  realised  perfectibility 
beyond  the  reach  of  Europe  "  in  her  decay."  Nor  was  the 
refined  metaphysical  idealist  the  latest  dreamer  of  such 
dreams.  In  our  own  century,  Southey,  Coleridge,  and  the 
little  band  of  Bristol  enthusiasts  who  planned  their  grand 
pantisocratic  scheme  of  intellectual  communism,  created  for 
themselves,  with  like  fertile  fancy,  a  Utopia  of  their  own, 
"  where  Susquehana  pours  his  untamed  stream ; "  and  many  a 
later  dreamer  has  striven  after  like  ideal  perfectibility  in 
"  peaceful  Freedom's  undivided  dale." 


-??■ 


)erfectibility 
!Tor  was  tlie 
jr  of  sucli 
;e,  and  the 
their  graud 
created  for 
their  own, 
and  many  a 
ectibility  in 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

iiE  term  "  Stone  Period  "  or  "  Stone  Age  "  was  suggested  in 
he  early  years  of  the  present  century  by  the  antiquaries  of 
Denmark  as  the  fitting  designation  of  that  primitive  era  in 
western  Europe — with  its  corresponding  stage  among  diverse 
peoples  in  widely  severed  regions  and  ages, — when  the  use  of 
metals  was  unknown.  That  there  was  a  period  in  the  history 
of  the  human  race,  before  its  Tubal-cains,  Vulcans,  Va3lands,  or 
other  Smith-gods  appeared,  when  man  depended  on  stone,  bone, 
ivory,  shells,  and  wood,  for  the  raw  material  out  of  which  to 
manufacture  his  implements  and  weapons,  is  now  universally 
admitted  ;  and  is  confirmed  by  tiie  abundant  disclosures  of  the 
drift  and  the  caves.  The  simple,  yet  highly  suggestive  classi- 
fication, due  to  Thomsen  of  Copenhagen,  was  the  first  scientific 

*;  recognition  of  the  fact,  now  established  by  evidence  derived 
from  periods  of  vastly  greater  antiquity  than  the  Neolithic  age 
of  Denmark.     The  accumulated  experience  of  many  generations 

'  was  required  before  men  mastered  the  useful  service  of  fire  in 
the  smelting  of  ores  and  the  casting  of  metals.      Nevertheless 

^it  seems  probable  that  the  knowledge  of  fire,  and  its  useful 
service  on  the  domestic  hearth,  are  coeval  with  the  existence 
|of  man  as  a  rational  being.  The  evidence  of  its  practical  ap- 
plication to  the  requirements  for  warmth  and  cooking  carry  us 
back  to  the  age  of  cave  implements,  including  some  among  the 
earliest  known  examples  of  man's  tool-making  industry.  In 
connection  with  this  subject.  Sir  John  Evans  draws  attention 
to  some  curious  indications  of  the  antiquity  of  the  use  of  flint 
y  the  fire-producer.^     He  refers  to  the  ingenious  derivation  of 

}  Ancient  Stone  Implements^  p.  14.  ~: — 

G 


ilipi 


W- 


82        TRADK  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

tlie  word  nilcr  as  given  by  Vincent  of  l>t'iuiviiis,  in  the  Specu- 
lum Ndturcc,  "  Silex  est  liii)is  dunis,  sic  dictus  eo  quod  ex  eo 
ignis  exsiliat,"  and  lii;  recullH  a  more  reniurkablo  renunisceiice 
of  the  evoking  of  fire  in  the  Neolithic  if  nut  in  the  Paheolithic 
period.  Pliny  informs  us  (lib.  vii.  cap.  5G),  that  it  was  Pyrodes, 
the  son  of  Cilix,  who  first  devised  the  way  to  strike  fire  out  nf 
flint ;  "A  myth,"  says  Sir  John  Evans,  "  which  seems  to  point  to 
the  use  of  silex  and  pyrites  (from  irvp)  rather  than  of  steel."  In 
reality  the  (lint  and  pyrites  lie  together  in  the  same  lower 
strata  of  the  chalk.  As  the  ancient  flint-miners  sunk  their 
j)its  in  search  of  the  levels  where  the  flint  abounds  they  would 
meet  with  frequent  nodules  of  pyrites.  The  first  grand  dis- 
covery of  thu  fire-producer  may  have  resulted  from  the  use  ■  f 
the  pyrites  as  a  mere  hammer-stone  to  break  up  the  larger 
flints. 

But  whatever  was  the  source  of  this  all-important  discovery, 
it  dates  among  the  curliest  manifestations  of  liuman  intelligence. 
Nodules  of  iron  pyrites  have  been  found  in  the  caves  of  France 
and  Belgium,  among  remains  pertaining  to  the  Palteolithic  age. 
and  are  among  the  most  interesting  disclosures  of  the  greatly 
more  modern,  though  still  prehistoric  age  of  the  barrows  ar.il 
cairns  of  the  Allophylian  period  of  Britain,  and  of  Wester 
Europe  generally.  Sir  R  C.  Hoare  records  the  finding,  anion;; 
the  contents  of  a  cinerary  urn,  in  a  Wiltshire  barrow,  "  chipped 
flints  prepared  for  arrow  heads,  a  long  piece  of  flint,  and  a 
pyrites,  both  evidently  smoothed  by  usage."  ^  More  rei'ent  ex- 
plorers, apprised  of  the  signifi(  uce  of  such  discoveries,  have 
noted  the  presence  of  nodules  01  pyrites,  accompanying  the 
personal  ornaments  and  wea])on3  occurring  in  graves  of  the 
same  age :  deposited  there  either  as  tokens  of  regard,  or  more 
probably  with  a  vague  idea  of  their  utility  to  the  dead  in  the 
life  beyond  the  grave.  In  a  communication  to  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland  on  a  group  of  stone  cists  disclosed,  iu 
1879,  on  the  farm  of  Teinside,  Teviotdale,  Lord  Eosehill  thus 
describes  part  of  the  contents  of  one  of  them.  "  It  was  filled 
with  dark-coloured  earth,  mixed  with  charcoal ;  and  closely 
intermingled  in  every  part  with  fragments  of  bones  which  had 
been  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire."  A  broken  urn  lay  about 
ten  inches  from  the  top.     "  Close  to  the  urn  was  a  rounded 

>  Hoaro's  South  Wilts,  p.  195. 


E  AGE 

n  the  Spccu- 
quod  ex  eo 
reniiniscence 
3  I'ahL'olithic 
was  Pyrodes, 
ce  fire  out  nf 
IS  to  point  to 
3f  steel."  Tu 
same  lower 
3  sunk  their 
.3  they  would 
it  grand  dis- 
ini  the  use  •  f 
ip  the  larger 

xnt  discovery, 

1  intelligence. 

ves  of  France 

.Ifeolithic  age. 

)f  the  greatly 

barrows  ami 

I  of  Westoi 

nding,  among 

3W,  "  chipped 

flint,  and  a 

)re  rerent  ex- 

Dveries,  have 

ipanying  the 

raves  of  the 

jard,  or  more 

dead  in  the 

le  Society  of 

disclosed,  in 

iosehill  thus 

t  was  filled 

and  closely 

!S  which  had 

n  lay  about 

a  rounded 


TRADE  AND  COMME.^CE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE        83 

piece  of  metallic  -  looking  substance,  which  appears  to  be 
•  radiated  iron  pyrites,'  and  which,"  adds  Lord  Eosehill,  "  I 
have  myself  discovered  in  several  interments."^  More  re- 
cei lly,  in  188;{,  Major  Colin  Mackenzie  reported  to  the  same 
Society  the  discovery  of  a  cist  and  urn  in  the  Black  Isle,  Ross- 
shire.-  Ho  thus  proceeds :  "  Whilst  gathering  together  the 
broken  pieces  of  the  urn,  a  round-nosed  flint-flake  or  scraper, 
chipped  at  tlie  edges,  was  found  amongst  the  debris,  and  proved 
to  have  a  Iduish  tinge,  as  if  it  iiad  been  subjected  to  the  action 
of  fire.  Close  beside  it  there  was  found  a  round  piece  of  iron 
]>yrites,  flat  on  one  side,  in  shape  somewhat  like  the  half  of  an 
egg,  divided  lengthways,  only  suudlor.  Dr.  Joseph  Anderson 
at  once  recognised  this  as  formhig,  along  with  the  solitary  Hint, 
nothing  less  than  a  prehistoric  '  strike-light  apparatus."  ^  No 
flint  is  procurable  in  the  locality ;  and  after  the  closest  search, 
no  other  flint  implement  or  flake  was  found  on  tl  site.  In 
comnuuiicatiiig  this  interesting  discovery  to  Mie  Society  of 
af  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  Major  Mackenzie  reviewed  the  dis- 
m  closures  (if  this  class  in  Great  Britain,  so  far  as  they  had  been 
II  noted  by  Hoare,  Borlase,  Bateman,  Greenwell  and  Evans, 
#i  furnishing  a  tabulated  statement  of  eleven  examples,  chiefly 
fouu'l  in  barrows,  and  ranging  over  an  area  extending  from 
C  rnwall  to  Koss-shire ;  and  to  those  additions  have  since  been 
made.  He  draws  attention  to  their  occurrence  in  localities 
V  which  produce  neither  pyrites  nor  flint.  But  with  the  former, 
at  least,  this  need  not  surprise  us.  The  prized  and  easily 
transported  pyrites  may  be  looked  for  in  any  ancient  barrow 
or  sepulchral  deposit,  and  has  probably  in  many  cases  passed 
unnoted  before  its  significance  was  undtirstood.  Now  that  this 
is  fully  appreciated,  it  is  seen  to  have  been  in  use  from  the 
early  stages  of  primitive  art :  the  very  dawn  of  science ;  and 
doubtless  the  pyrites  and  flint  found  in  localities  remote  from 
those  where  they  occur  as  natural  products  are  in  most  cases 
due  to  primitive  barter.  - 

The  old  Promethean  myth  represents  the  fire-bringer  inter- 
posing on  behalf  of  a  degraded  race  of  beings  whose  helpless 
lot  had  been  preceded  by  the  Hesiodic  Golden,  Silver,  and 
Bronze  ages,  as  well  as  by  an  Heroic  age  of  such  demigods  as 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  viii.  137. 

=  Ibid.  N.S.  vii.  356.  3  jj^.  ^.g,  ^U.  43a,         ___ 


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the  Titan  son  of  lapetus.  By  a  reverse  process  of  evolution 
from  the  lower  to  higher  stages,  the  anthropoid,  or  Caliban  of 
archeeological  science,  becomes  the  tool-maker,  the  tool-user, 
and  in  the  same  primitive  stage,  the  fire-maker.  But  the 
service  of  fire  is  required  by  man  under  the  most  varied  con- 
ditions of  life.  The  stone  lamp  with  its  moss  wick,  and  the 
stone  kettle,  are  important  implements  in  the  snow-hut  of  the 
Eskimo.  On  those  he  depends,  not  only  for  cooking,  but  for 
his  supply  of  water  from  melted  snow ;  and  without  the 
lighted  taper  of  his  stone  lamp  the  indoor  life  of  the  long, 
unbroken  Arctic  night  would  be  passed  in  a  rayless  dungeon. 
Hti  has  inherited  the  knowledge  of  the  palaeolithic  fire-maker, 
froui  whom,  indeed,  some  have  claimed  for  him  direct  genea- 
logical descent;  and  l:e  generally  treasures  among  his  most 
icseful  appliances  a  piece  of  quartz,  and  a  nodule  of  pyrites, 
wLich  constitute  his  flint  and  steel.  At  the  remote  extreme 
of  the  southern  continent  the  same  precious  bequest  is  in  use 
by  the  Fuegians  and  Patagonians  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  the  name 
of  which  is  a  memorial  of  its  fire-using  savages.  The  Fuegian 
makes  a  hearth  of  clay  in  the  bottom  of  his  rudely  construe  tec' 
bark  canoe,  on  which  he  habitually  keeps  a  fire  burning.  He 
prepares  a  tinder  of  dried  moss  or  fungus,  which  is  readily 
ignited  by  the  spark  struck  from  a  flinty  stone  by  means  of  a 
pyrites.  The  invaluable  discovery  is  shared  by  the  lowest 
races.  The  Australian,  the  Andaman  Islander,  and  other 
rudest  tribes  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  have  mastered 
the  same  great  secret,  and  turn  it  to  useful  account. 

The  tradition  may  have  been  perpetuated  from  generation 
to  generation  from  the  remotest  dawn  of  human  reason,  or  it 
may  have  been  rediscovered  independently  among  diverse 
races.  But  wherever  the  value  of  the  pyrites  in  evoking  the 
latent  spark  of  the  flint  was  known,  it  would  be  a  coveted 
prize  and  a  valuable  object  of  barter.  The  story  of  the  old 
fire-makers  is  recorded  still  in  the  charcoal  ashes  of  many  an 
ancient  hearth ;  for  charcoal  is  one  of  the  most  indestructible 
of  substances  when  buried.  In  the  famous  Kent's  Hole  lime- 
a^ioue  cavern  at  Torbay,  Devonshire,  explorers  have  syste- 
matically pursued  research  backward  from  the  specifically  dated 
stalagmitic  record  of  "  Eobert  Hodges,  of  Ireland,  Feb.  20, 
1688,"  through  Saxon,  Eonian,  British,  and  Neolithic  strata,  to 


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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


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solution 
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the  deposit  where  human  remains  lay  embedded  alongside  of 
those  of  the  woolly  rhinoceros,  the  mammoth;  the  fossil  horse, 
the  hyena  and  cave-bear.  There  also  lay,  not  only  the  finished 
implements,  but  the  flakes  and  flint  cores  that  revealed  the 
workshop  of  the  primitive  tool-maker,  and  the  charcoal  that 
preserved  the  traces  of  his  ancient  fire.  So,  too,  in  the 
Cromagnon  rock-shelter  of  the  Perigord,  m  an  upper  valley  of 
the  Garonne,  repeated  layers  of  charcoal,  interspersed  with 
broken  bones  and  other  culinary  remains  of  the  ancient  cave- 
dwellers,  tell  of  the  knowledge  and  use  of  fire  in  western 
Europe's  Eeindeer  and  Mammoth  ages  by  palseolithic  man. 
Compared  with  such  disclosures  of  primeval  arts,  the  discoveries 
on  which  the  Danish  archseologists  based  their  systematising  of 
prehistoric  remains  belong,  geologically  speaking,  to  modern 
eras.  Denmark  is  underlaid  essentially  by  Upper  Cretaceous 
rocks,  the  Etage  Danien  of  most  French  writers,  and  the  Fa,we 
Kdke  ol  German  geologists,  Drift  clays  and  gravels  overlie 
the  cretaceous  rocks  in  many  places,  with  more  recent  deposits 
of  sands,  gravels,  etc.  These  latter  are  of  Neolithic  age,  con- 
taining bones  only  of  existing  mammals.  Palaeolithic  deposits, 
with  bones  of  extinct  species,  do  not  appear  to  have  been 
recognised  in  Denmark ;  nor  is  there  any  trace  of  the  presence 
of  pala:olithic  man.  Hence  the  field  alike  of  Danish  antiquarian 
research  and  of  archaeological  speculation  was  greatly  circum- 
scribed. But  thus  precluded  from  the  study  of  primitive  arts 
in  that  vague  palaeolithic  dawn  which  lies  outside  of  the 
speculations  of  the  historian,  and  beyond  resort  to  classical 
authorities  for  evidence  in  the  irterpretation  of  local  disclosures, 
the  Danish  antiquary  escaped  the  temptation  to  many  misleading 
assumptions  which  long  perplexed  the  archaeologists  of  France 
and  England ;  and  so  his  limit'rd  range  has  tended  to  facilitate 
the  investigations  into  subsequent  disclosures  relative  to  an 
ampler  antiquity  of  man  and  his  arts. 

Within  the  old  Eoman  provinces  of  Western  Europe,  the 
Latin  conquerors  were  not  only  accredited  with  whatever 
showed  any  trace  of  Hellenic  or  Roman  art,  but  with  the  sole 
skill  in  working  in  iron.  The  Dane  and  Northman  were 
assumed  to  have  followed  in  their  wake  with  bronze,  as  with 
runes  and  other  essentially  non-classical  products ;  though  still 
the  beautiful  leaf-shaped  sword  and  other  choicest  relics  of  the 


H: 


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W-'i^l 


86 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


Bronze  age  were  not  infrequently  ascribed  to  the  liomans. 
But  philologists  had  noc  yet  assigned  a  place  to  the  Celtic  in 
the  Aryan  family  of  languages.  The  Celt  was  not  only  assumed 
to  be  the  barbarous  precursor,  alike  of  Eoman  and  Dane,  but  to 
be  the  primeval  man  of  Western  Europe.  Hence  when  the 
first  hoards  of  palaeolithic  flint  implements  were  accidentally 
discovered  in  Sussex  and  Kent,  their  Celtic  or  Britisli  origin 
was  assumed  without  question.  But  the  known  historic 
position  of  the  Northman  on  Scandinavian  soil  prevented  the 
crude  application  of  the  term  "  Danish  "  to  every  bronze  relic 
found  there ;  and  as  no  Eoman  conqueror  had  trodden  the  soil 
of  Denmark,  the  ethnology  as  well  as  the  archaeology  of  the 
region  was  left  unaffected  by  misleading  complexities  that 
resulted  from  the  presence  of  the  Eomans  in  Gaul  and  Britain. 
The  absence  of  remains  of  palaeolithic  man  still  further 
simplified  tlie  problem ;  while  the  geology  of  the  Danish 
peninsula  favoured  the  neolithic  tool-maker,  Flint  abounds 
there  in  amorphous  nodules  or  blocks,  and  the  nuclei,  or  cores, 
from  whicli  a  succession  of  flakes  have  been  struck,  are  of 
frequent  occurrence  among  the  relics  of  the  Danish  Stone  age. 
Flint  is  no  less  abundant  throughout  the  regions  of  France  and 
England  on  either  side  of  the  English  Channel ;  and  there, 
accordingly,  alike  in  the  caves  and  the  river-drift,  the  rude, 
massive  flint  implements  of  the  Palaeolithic  era  abound. 

The  natural  cleavage  of  flint,  as  also  of  the  obsidian  found 
in  volcanic  localities  in  the  Old  and  New  "World,  so  readily  adapts 
both  materials  to  the  manufacture  of  knives,  lances,  and  arrow 
heads,  that  they  appear  to  have  been  turned  to  account  by  the 
tool-maker  from  the  dawn  of  rudest  art.  But  it  must  not  be 
overlooked  that  obsidian  is  limited  to  volcanic  regions,  and 
flint  is  no  more  universally  available  than  bronze  or  iron.  In 
some  countries  it  is  rare ;  in  still  more  it  is  entirely  wanting ; 
and  yet  its  peculiar  aptitude  for  tool-making  appears  to  have 
been  recognised  at  the  earliest  period ;  so  that  implements  and 
weapons  of  flint,  alike  of  the  Palaeolithic  and  the  Neolithic  age, 
abound  in  many  localities  where  the  raw  material  of  the  tool- 
maker  i    unknown. 

It  was  only  natural  that  the  systematic  study  and 
classification  of  the   manufactures  of  the  ancient  workers  in 


flint  should  be  first  carried  out 


in  regions  such  as  the  Danish 


IP 

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Hi,,, 

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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  /N  THE  STONE  AGE 


87 


peninsula,  geologically  related  to  the  Cretaceous  period,  and 
abounding  in  the  material  which  most  readily  adapts  itself  to 
the  requirements  of  an  implement-maker  ignorant  of  the  arts  of 
metallurgy.  But  the  same  inexhaustible  store  of  raw  material 
was  available  to  the  "  Flint-folk,"  whose  implements  have 
become  so  familiar  by  reason  of  more  recent  disclosures,  of 
France  and  England,  belonging  to  a  period  when  the  climate, 
the  physical  geography,  and  the  whole  animal  life  of  Western 
Europe,  contrasted  in  every  respect  with  anything  we  have 
knowledge  of  in  remotest  historic  times.  Those  rude  examples 
of  primitive  art  lie  alongside  of  the  unwrought  flint  in  such 
profusion  that  the  examples  of  them  already  accumulated  in 
the  museums  of  Europe  and  America  amount  to  many  thousands. 
But  now  that  attention  has  been  thus  widely  drawn  to  their 
character  and  significance,  it  is  found  that  implements  of  the 
same  class  not  only  abound  in  regions  geologically  favourable  to 
their  production,  but  they  occur  in  nearly  every  country  in 
Europe,  and  on  widely  scattered  localities  in  Asia  and  Africa, 
where  no  such  natural  resources  were  available  for  their  manu- 
facture. 

The  earliest  known  type  of  primitive  flint  implements, 
illustrative  of  a  class  now  very  familiar  to  archaeologists,  was 
accidentally  recovered  from  the  quaternary  gravel  beds  of  the 
Thames  valley,  in  the  heart  of  Old  London,  before  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  a  well-made  spear -pointed 
implement,  with  an  unusually  tapering  point,  while  the  butt- 
end  is  broad  and  roughly  fashioned,  so  that  it  could  be  used  in 
the  hand  without  any  haft  as  a  spade  or  hoe.  The  deposit  in 
which  it  lay  would  now  be  accepted  as  unquestionable  evi- 
dence of  its  Palseocosmic  age ;  but  at  the  date  of  its  discovery, 
the  Celtic  era  was  regarded  as  that  to  which  all  oldest  traces 
of  European  man  pertained.  This  interesting  relic  is  accord- 
ingly described  in  the  Sloane  Catalogue  of  the  British  Museum 
as  "  a  British  weapon,  found  with  elephant's  tooth,  opposite  to 
Black  Mary's,  near  Gray's  Inn  Lane."  In  1797,  another  and 
highly  interesting  discovery  of  the  same  class  was  communi- 
cated to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  London  by  one  of  its 
members,  Mr.  John  Frere.^  In  this  case  a  large  number  of 
palfeoliths  were  found  lying  at  a  depth  of  twelve  feet  from  the 

^  Archwologia,  xiii.  204. 


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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


surface,  in  a  gravelly  soil  containing  fresh-water  shells  and 
bones  of  great  size.  Subsequent  excavations  in  the  same 
locality,  at  Hoxne,  Suffolk,  ronfinn  the  presence  there  of  the 
bones  of  the  mammoth,  as  well  as  of  the  fossil  horse  and  the 
deer.  Mr.  Frere  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  the  evidence 
of  antiquity  that  he  inclined  to  assign  the  implements  to  a 
remote  age,  "  even  beyond  that  of  the  present  world."  By 
this,  however,  he  probably  meant  no  more  than  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes,  when,  so  recently  as  1847,  he  entitled  his  volume 
devoted  to  the  corresponding  discoveries  in  the  valley  of  the 
Somme,  Antiquitds  Celtiques  et  AnUdiluviennes.  The  antiquity 
of  man,  as  now  understood,  was  then  unthought  of ;  and  the 
word  "  antediluvian  "  sufficed  as  a  vague  expression  of  remoie 
indefinite  antiquity  for  which  pre-Celtic  would  then  have  been 
accepted  as  an  equivalent.  Mr.  Frere  speaks  of  the  flint 
implements  as  "  evidently  weapons  of  war  fabricated  and  used 
by  a  people  who  had  not  the  use  of  metals."  He  further 
adds :  "  The  manner  in  which  they  lie  would  lead  to  the 
persuasion  that  it  was  a  place  of  their  manufacture,  and  not  of 
their  accidental  deposit ;  and  the  numbers  of  them  were  so 
great  that  the  man  who  carried  on  the  brick-work  told  me 
that  before  he  was  aware  of  their  being  objects  of  curiosity  he 
had  emptied  baskets  full  of  them  into  the  ruts  of  the  adjoining 
road."  ^ 

When,  in  December  1886,  Mr.  J.  Allan  Brown  communi- 
cated to  the  same  Society  an  analogous  discovery  near  Ealing, 
Middlesex,  English  archaeologists  had  become  so  familiar  with 
the  idea  of  the  antiquity  of  palaeolithic  man,  and  the  arts  of 
his  epoch,  that  the  existence  of  pre-Celtic  races  in  Britain  was 
accepted  as  a  mere  truism.  It  was  not,  therefore,  any  matter 
of  surprise  to  be  told  of  the  dipcovery  of  a  palaeolithic  work- 
shop floor  of  the  Drift  period,  uear  Ealing.  It  lay  about  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  present  bed  of  the  Thames;  and  here, 
six  /eet  below  the  surface,  on  an  ancient  sloping  bank  of  the 
river,  an  area  of  abo".t  forty  feet  square  disclosed  nearly  six 
hundred  unabraded  worked  flints,  including  neatly  finished 
spear  heads  from  five  to  six  inches  in  length.  Alongside  of 
these  lay  roughly  wrought  axei?,  chipped  on  one  or  both  sides 
to  a  cutting  edge,  and  some  of  them  unfinished.     There  were 

^  ArcJueologia,  xiii.  224,  225  ;  pi.  xiv.  xv. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE        89 

ftlso  flint  flakes,  some  with  s'^rrated  edges,  and  well-finished 
knives,  borers,  drills,  chisels,  etc.  Waste  flakes  and  chippings, 
as  well  as  cores,  or  partially  worked  blocks  of  flint,  were  also 
observed  in  sufficient  numbers  to  leave  no  doubt  that  here,  in 
the  place  of  their  manufacture,  lay  buried  beneath  the  accumu- 
lations of  unnumbered  centuries  industrial  products  of  the 
skilled  artizans  of  the  British  Islands  contemporary  with  the 
long-extinct  quaternary  fauna.^ 

The  types  of  flint  implements,  found  at  Hoxne  in  1797, 
correspond  to  other  pala^oliths  recovered  from  rolled  gravel  and 
clay  of  the  glacial  drift  m  the  valleys  of  the  Thames,  the 
Somme,  and  the  Seine.  In  their  massive  and  artless  rudeness 
they  seem  to  realise  for  us  some  fit  ideal  of  the  primitive 
fabricator  in  his  first  efforts  at  tool-making.  But  the  Ealing 
find  accords  with  the  more  extended  discoveries  of  this  class. 
In  reality,  the  manufactures  of  palaeolithic  man,  as  a  whole, 
are  less  artless  than  many  examples  of  modern  Indian  flint - 
work.  Not  a  few  of  the  stone  axes  have  had  their  shape 
determined  by  that  of  the  water-worn  stones  out  of  which  they 
were  fashioned,  and  so  required  much  less  skill  than  was 
necessarily  expended  in  chipping  the  flint  nodule  into  the 
rudest  of  pointed  implements.  Any  close-grained  rock,  admit- 
ting of  grinding  and  polish,  was  available  for  fashioning  the 
larger  weapons  and  domestic  implements,  alike  among  the 
men  of  the  Neolithic  age  and  the  native  races  of  the  American 
continent  in  modern  centuries.  For  many  of  the  simpler 
requirements  of  the  tool-user,  any  apt  stone  chip  or  water- 
worn  pebble  sufficed ;  and  scarcely  anything  can  be  conceived 
of  more  rude  or  artless  than  some  of  the  stone  weapons  and 
implements  in  use  among  savage  tribes  at  the  p^resent  day. 
Professor  Joseph  Leidy  desc  1  ibes  a  scraper  employed  by  the 
Shoshone  Indians  in  dressing  buffalo  skins,  consisting  of  a  thin 
segment  of  quartzite,  so  devoid  of  manipulative  skill  that,  he 
says,  had  he  noticed  it  among  the  strata  of  indurated  clays  and 
sandstone,  instead  of  seeing  it  in  actual  use,  he  would  have 
regarded  it  as  an  accidental  spawl.^  Dr.  Charles  C.  Abbott,  in 
his  Primitive  Industry  of  the  Native  Races,  furnishes  illustrations 
of  pointed  flakes,  or  arrow  tips,  triangular  arrow  heads,  spear 

-  ^  Athenaum,  Dec.  18,  1886. 

2  [;r^_  Geological  Survey,  1872,  p.  652. 


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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


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heads,  and  other  stone  implements,  only  a  little  less  rude  and 
shapeless.^  Of  a  similar  character  is  the  blade  of  a  war-club 
in  use  among  the  Indians  of  the  Rio  Frio,  in  Texas.'^j  Nothing 
so  rude  has  been  ascribed  to  artificial  origin  among  the  dis- 
closures of  the  drift,  though  corresponding  implements  may 
have  escaped  notice ;  for  were  it  not  that  the  chipped  piece  of 
trachyte  of  the  Texas  warolub  is  inserted  in  a  wooden  haft  of 
unmistakable  human  workmanship,  the  blade  would  scarcely 
suggest  the  idea  of  artificial  origin.  Mere  rudeness,  therefore, 
is  no  certain  evidence  of  the  first  ariless  efforts  of  man  to 
furnish  himself  with  tools. 

Until  we  arrive  at  the  period  of  neolithic  art,  with  its  perfor- 
ated hammers,  grooved  axes,  net-sinkers,  gouges,  adzes,  and 
numerous  other  ground  and  polished  implements,  fashioned  of 
granite,  diorite,  trap,  and  other  igneous  rocks,  the  forms  of 
implements  are  few  and  simple,  dependent  to  a  large  extent 
on  the  natural  cleavage  of  the  flint.  The  commoner  examples 
of  neolithic  art,  recovered  in  thousands  from  ancient  Scandi- 
navian, Gaulish,  and  British  graves,  from  the  lake-dwellings  of 
Switzerland,  the  Danish  and  British  shell  mounds,  the  peat 
mosses  of  Denmark  and  Ireland,  and  from  numerous  other 
depositories  of  prehistoric  industrial  art,  are  scarcely  distin- 
guishable from  the  flint  knives,  scrapers,  spears,  and  arrow 
heads,  or  the  chisels  and  axes,  manufactured  by  the  American 
Indians  at  the  present  day.  T?  3  material  available  in  certain 
localities,  such  as  the  cla}  stone  of  the  Haida  and  Babecu 
Indians,  and  the  argillite  of  the  old  implement-makers  of  New 
Jersey,  the  obsidian  or  Mexico,  or  the  quartz,  jasper,  and 
greenstone  of  many  Canadian  centres,  give  a  specific  character 
to  the  implements  of  the  various  regions ;  but,  on  the  whole, 
the  arts  of  the  Stone  period  of  the  most  diverse  races  and  eras 
present  striking  analogies,  scarcely  less  suggestive  of  the 
ope:"ation  of  a  tool -making  instinct  than  the  work  of  the 
nest-builders,  or  the  ingenious  art  of  the  beaver.  But  the 
massive  and  extremely  rude  implements  of  the  river-drift  and 
caves  present  essentially  different  types,  controlled  indeed,  like 
the  productions  of  later  artificers,  by  the  natural  cleavage  and 
other  essential  properties  of  the  material  in  vvhich  the  flint- 

--L _„A„i         1  Primitive  hidustry,  Figs.  241,  254,  292,  295,  etc. 
^  'FtWSkiis' Stone  Implements,  Y\g.  2i. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE        91 


worker  wrought,  but  with  some  characteristic  differences, 
suggestive  of  habits  and  conditions  of  life  in  which  the 
artificer  of  the  Mammoth  or  lleindeer  period  differed  from  the 
tool-maker  of  Europe's  Neolithic  age,  or  the  Indian  savage  of 
modern  centuries. 

The  tool-bearing  drift- gravel  of  France  and  England  pre- 
sents its  relics  of  primitive  art  intermingled  with  countless 
amorphous  unwrought  flints.  Both  have  been  subjected  to 
the  violent  action  of  floods,  to  which  the  present  condition  of 
such  geological  deposits  is  due ;  and  many  contents  of  the 
caves,  though  subjected  to  less  violence,  are  the  results  of 
similar  causes.  But,  along  with  numerous  implements  of  the 
rude  drift  type,  the  sheltered  recesses  of  the  caves  have  pre- 
served, not  only  the  smaller  and  more  delicate  flint  imple- 
ments, but  carefully  wrought  tools  and  weapons  of  bone,  hornj 
and  ivory.  Some,  at  least,  of  those  undoubtedly  belong  tf  ■  the 
Paleolithic  age,  and  therefore  tend  to  verify  conclusions,  not 
cnly  as  to  the  mechanical  ingeniiity,  but  also  as  to  the 
intellectual  capacity  of  the  earliest  tool-makers.  The  large 
almond  and  tongue-shaped  flint  implements  are  so  massive  as 
to  have  effectually  resisted  the  violence  to  which  they,  along 
with  other  contents  of  the  rolled  gravels  in  which  they  occur, 
were  subjected ;  whereas  it  is  only  in  the  favouring  shelter  of 
the  caves,  or  in  rare  primitive  sepulchral  deposits,  that  delicate 
trinmied  flakes  and  the  more  perishable  implements  of  bnne 
and  ivory,  or  horn,  have  escaped  destruction. 

The  palaeolithic  implements  to  which  Boucher  de  Perthes 
directed  attention  so  early  as  1840,  were  recovered  from  drift- 
gravel  beds,  where  amorphous  flint  nodules,  both  whole  and 
fractured,  abound  in  countless  numbers ;  and  this  tended  to 
suggest  very  reasonable  doubts  as  to  the  artificial  origin  of  the 
rude  implements  lying  in  close  proximity  to  them.  Nor  was 
this  incredulity  lessened  by  the  significance  assigned  by  him 
to  other  contents  of  the  same  drift-gravel.  For  so  far  was 
Boucher  de  Perthes  from  overlooking  the  endless  variety  of 
fractured  pieces  of  flint  recoverable  from  the  drift  beds,  that 
his  narrative  io  supplemented  by  a  series  of  plates  of 
L'lndustrie  Primitive,  the  larger  number  of  which  present 
chipped  flints  so  obviously  the  mere  products  of  accidental 
fracture  or  of  weathering,  that  they  contributed  in  no  slight 


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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


degree  to  discredit  the  book  on  its  first  ajjpearaiice.  Others 
of  tlieni,  however,  sliow  true  flakes,  scrapers,  and  fragments 
probably  referable  to  smaller  implements  of  the  same  clitss, 
such  as  would  be  recognised  without  hesitation  as  of 
artificnd  origin  if  found  alongside  of  undoubted  flint  imple- 
ments in  a  cave  deposit,  or  in  any  barrow,  cist,  or  sepulchral 
urn.  In  so  far  as  they  belong  to  the  true  Drift,  and  not  to 
the  Neolithic  or  the  Gallo-Eoman  period,  they  tend  to  confirm 
the  idea  that  the  large  almond  and  tongue-shaped  implements 
are  not  the  sole  relics  of  palaeolithic  art. 

But  now  that  adequate  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
stone  implements  of  the  Drift-folk,  or  the  men  of  the  Main- 
moth  and  Eeindeer  ages,  it  becomes  apparent  that  they  are  bv 
no  means  limited  to  such  localities.  On  the  contrary,  sites  of 
native  manufactories  of  flint  implements,  with  abundant 
remains  of  the  fractured  debris  of  the  ancient  tool-makers' 
workshop,  some  of  which  are  described  on  a  later  page,  have 
been  discovered  remote  from  any  locality  where  the  raw 
material  could  be  procured.  Until  the  gun  flint  was  super- 
seded by  the  percussion  cap,  the  material  for  its  manufacture 
was  procured  by  sinking  shafts  through  the  chalk  until  the 
beds  of  flint  suited  for  the  purpose  were  reached.  In  this  the 
modern  flint-worker  only  repeated  the  practice  of  the  primitive 
tool-maker.  A  group  of  ancient  flint  pits  at  Cissbury,  near 
Worthing,  has  been  brought  into  prominent  notice  by  the 
systematic  explorations  of  Colonel  A.  Lane  Fox.  They  occur 
in  and  around  one  of  the  aboriginal  hill-forts  of  Sussex,  the 
name  of  which  has  been  connected  with  Cissa,  the  son  of 
Ella,  who  is  referred  to  by  Camden  as  "  Saxon  king  of  those 
parts."  Eut  any  occupation  of  the  old  hill-fort  as  a  Saxon 
stronghold  belongs  to  very  recent  times  when  compared  with 
that  of  the  flint-workers,  whose  pits  have  attracted  the  notice 
of  niodern  explorers.  Colonel  Lane  Fox  describes  Cissbury 
Hill  Fort  as  a  great  flint  arsenal.  Here  within  its  earthen 
ramparts  the  workmen  who  fashioned  the  arms  of  the  Stone 
age  excavated  for  the  beds  of  native  flint  in  the  underlying 
chalk,  and  industriously  worked  it  into  every  variety  of 
weapon.  "  In  one  place  a  collection  of  large  flakes  might  he 
seen,  where  evidtntly  the  first  rough  outline  of  a  flint  imple- 
ment had  been  formed.     In  another  place  a  quantity  of  small 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE   'N  THE  STONE  AGE        93 


{lakes  showed  where  a  celt  had  beeu  brought  ..»  perfection  by 
luimite  and  careful  chipping."  '  In  other  excavations  the 
jiounders,  or  stone  hammers,  were  found,  witli  a  smooth 
roiuided  end  by  which  they  were  held  in  the  hand,  and  the 
otlicr  bruised  and  fiactured  in  the  manufacture  of  the  flint 
im])lements  that  abound  on  the  same  site.'-^  Twenty-fivo  pits 
were  explored ;  and  from  these  hundreds  of  worked  flints  were 
recovered  in  every  stage  of  workmanship :  chips,  flakes,  cores, 
balls,  and  finished  knives ;  drills,  scrapers,  spear  heads,  and 
axes  or  celts.  In  fact.  Colonel  Lane  Fox  sums  up  his  general 
statement  of  details  with  the  remark  that  "  Cissbury  has  pro- 
duced specimens  of  nearly  every  type  known  to  have  been 
found  among  flint  implements,  from  the  Drift  and  Cave  up  to 
the  Surface  period."  ^  But  this  "  Woolwich  "  of  the  flint  age 
occupied  an  altogether  exceptional  position,  with  the  raw 
material  immediately  underlying  the  military  enclosure,  not 
improbably  constructed  on  purpose  to  defend  the  primitive 
arsenal  and  workshop,  and  so  render  its  garrison  independent 
of  all  foreign  supplies. 

Other  flint  pits   point  to  the  labours  of  the  industrious 
miner,  and   the  probable   transport   of   the   raw   material   to 
distant  localities  where  the  prized  flint  could  only  be  procured 
from  traders,  who  bartered  it  for  other  needful  supplies.     An 
interesting  group  of  flint   pits  of  this  latter  class  has  been 
subjected  to  careful  exploration  by  the  Eev.  Canon  Greenwell, 
with  the  ingenious  inference  already  noted,  of  the  traces  of  a 
left-handed  workman  among  the  flint-miners  of  the  Neolithic 
age.     This  was  based  on  the  relative  position  and  markings  of 
two  picks  fashioned  from  the  antlers  of  the  red  deer,  corre- 
sponding to  others  of  the  ancient  miners'  tools  found  scattered 
through  the  long-deserted  shafts  and  galleries  of  the  flint  pits. 
The  shallow  depressions  on  the  surface,  which  guide  the 
explorer  to  those  shafts  of  the  ancient  workmen,  are  analogous 
to  others  that  reveal  the  funnel-shaped  excavations  hereafter 
described,  on  Flint  Eidge,  the  sites  of  ancient  flint  pits  of  the 
American  arrow-makers.     In  France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland, 
as  well  as  in  Great  Britain,  many  localities  are  no  less  familiar, 
on  which  the  refuse  flakes,  and  chippings  of  flint  and  other 
available  material,  show  where  they  have  been  systematically 
'  Archccologia,  xlii.  72.  *  Jbid.  p.  68.  ^  Jbid.  p.  68. 


M 


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94 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


m 


fashioned  into  iniplenienta.  The  Museum  of  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland  has  acquired  numerous  interestiiif; 
additions  to  its  collections  of  objects  of  this  class  hy  encourag- 
ing systematic  research.  From  the  sands  at  Colvin  and 
Findhorn,  Morayshire ;  Little  Ferry,  Sutherlandshire ;  and 
from  lUirghhead,  Drainie,  and  Culbin  sands,  Elginshire,  nearly 
seven  thousand  specimens  have  been  recovered,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  flint  flakes  and  chippings ;  but  also  including 
several  hundred  arrow  heads,  knives,  and  scrapers,  many  of 
them  unfinished  or  broken. 

Thus,  in  various  localities,  remote  from  native  sources  of 
flint,  a  systematic  manufacture  of  implements  appears  to  have 
been  carried  on.  There  can,  therefore,  be  scarcely  any  hesita- 
tion in  inferring,  from  the  evidence  adduced,  first  a  trade  in 
the  raw  material  brought  from  the  distant  localities  of  the 
flint  mines ;  and  then  a  local  traffic  in  the  manufactured 
implements,  as  was  undoubtedly  the  case  among  the  American 
aborigines  at  no  remote  date.  This  aspect  of  primitive  inter- 
change, both  of  the  raw  material  and  the  products  of  industrial 
skill,  in  so  far  as  it  is  illustrated  in  the  practice  of  the 
American- Indian  tribes,  merits  the  most  careful  study,  as  a 
help  to  the  interpretation  of  the  archa3ologIcal  evidence 
pertaining  to  prehistoric  times.  To  the  superficial  observer, 
stone  is  of  universal  occurrence ;  and  it  seoms,  therefore,  need- 
less to  inquire  where  the  implement-maker  of  any  Stone  age 
procured  the  rough  block  out  of  which  he  fashioned  his 
weapon  or  tool.  Only  when  copper,  bronze,  and  iron  super- 
seded the  crude  material  of  the  Stone  age  has  it  been  supposed 
to  be  needful  to  determine  the  sources  of  supply.  But  that  is  a 
hasty  and  wholly  incorrect  surmise.  The  untutored  savage  is 
indeed  greatly  limited  in  his  choice  of  materials.  ".Ve  are 
familiar  with  the  shell  workers  of  the  Caribbees  and  the 
Pacific  Islands,  and  the  horn  and  ivory  workers  of  Arctic 
regions ;  but  where  the  resources  of  an  ample  range  could  be 
turned  to  account,  the  primitive  workman  learned  at  a  very 
early  date  to  select  by  preference  such  stones  as  break  with  a 
conchoidal  fracture.  Only  where  such  could  not  be  had,  the 
most  available  chance-fractured  chip  or  the  apt  water-worn 
stone  was  turned  to  account.  Eude  implements  are  accordingly 
met  with  fashioned  of  trap,  sienite,  diorite,  granite,  and  other 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE        95 


Igneous 


rocks,  OS  "well  as  from  quartzite,  agftte,  jasper, 
serpentine,  and  slate.  Some  of  those  materials  were  specially 
favoured  by  the  neolithic  workmen  for  certain  classes  of  their 
carefully  finished  weapons  and  implements,  such  as  perforated 
hammers,  large  axes,  gouges,  ami  chisels.  lUit  the  natural 
cleavage  of  the  Hint,  and  the  sharp  edge  exposed  by  every 
fracture,  adapt  it  for  faahioning  the  smaller  knives,  lance  and 
arrow  heads,  in  a  way  no  other  material  except  obsidian 
equals.  Hence  flint  appears  to  have  been  no  less  in  request 
among  ancient  tool-makers  than  copper,  tin,  and  iron  in  the 
later  periods  of  metallurgic  art. 

The  fact  that  tin  is  a  metal  of  rare  occurrence,  though 
found  in  nearly  inexhaustible  quantities  in  some  regions,  has 
given  a  peculiar  significanca  to  certain  historical  researches, 
apart  from  the  special  interest  involved  in  the  processes  of  the 
primitive  metallurgist,  and  the  widely  diffused  traces  of 
workers  in  bronze.  The  comparative  rarity  of  Hint,  and  its 
total  absence  in  many  localities,  suggest  a  like  inquiry  into 
the  probable  sources  of  its  supply  in  regions  remote  from  its 
native  deposits.  The  Hint  laK3e  or  arrow  head,  thrown  by  an 
enemy,  or  wrested  from  the  grasp  of  a  vanquished  foe,  would, 
as  in  the  case  of  improved  weapons  of  war  in  many  a  later 
age,  first  introduce  the  prized  material  to  the  notice  of  less 
favoured  tribes.  As  the  primitive  tool-maker  learned  by 
experience  the  greatar  adaptability  of  flint  than  of  most  other 
stones  for  the  manufacture  of  his  weapons  and  implements,  it 
may  be  assumed  that  it  became  an  object  of  barter  in  localities 
remote  from  those  where  it  abounds ;  and  thus  by  its  diffusion, 
it  may  have  constituted  a  recognised  form  of  pecunia  ages 
before  the  barter  of  pastoral  tribes  gave  rise  to  the  peculiar 
significance  attached  to  that  term. 

One  piece  of  confirmatory  evidence  of  trade  in  unwrought 
flint  is  the  frequent  occurrence  of  numerous  flint  flakes  among 
the  prized  gifts  deposited  with  the  dead.  Canon  Greenwell 
describes,  among  the  contents  of  a  Yorkshire  barrow  in  the 
parish  of  Ganton,  a  deposit  of  flint  flakes  and  chippings 
numbering  one  hundred  and  eighteen,  along  with  a  few 
finished  scrapers  and  arrow  heads ;  ^  and  smaller  deposits  of 
like  kind  are  repeatedly  noted  by  him.     Still  more,  he  describes 

*  British  Barrows,  p.  166, 


.(.'* 


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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


their  occurrence  under  circumstances  which  suggest  the 
probability  of  the  scattering  of  flint  flakes,  like  an  offering  of 
current  coin,  by  the  mourners,  as  the  primitive  grave  was 
covered  in  and  the  memorial  mound  piled  over  the  sacred 
spot.  Flints  and  potsherds,  he  says,  occur  more  constantly, 
and  even  more  abundantly  than  bones ;  and  this  presents  to 
his  mind  a  difficult  problem,  in  considering  which  he  refers  to 
au  analogous  practice  of  a  very  diverse  age.  The  maimed 
rites  at  poor  Ophelias  grave  are  familiar  to  the  reader  of 
Hamlet.  The  priest  replies  to  the  demand  of  Laertes  for  more 
ample  ceremony  at  his  sister's  burial : — 

But  that  great  command  o'ersways  the  order, 
She  should  in  ground  unsanctified  have  lodged 
Till  the  last  trumpet ;  for  charitable  prayers,  ■' 

Shards,  flints,  and  pebbles  should  be  thrown  on  her. 


mv:\       'A 


% 

■  1  A 


> "  ill 


The  flints  and  potsherds,  Canon  Greenwell  remarks,  "  occur 
at  times  in  very  large  quautities,  the  flints  generally  in  the 
shape  of  mere  chippings  and  waste  pieces,  but  often  as 
manufactured  articles,  such  as  arrow  points,  knives,  saws,  drills 
and  scrapers,  etc."  He  further  notes  that  they  are  found 
distributed  throughout  the  sepulchral  mound,  "  in  some 
instances  in  such  quantities  as  to  suggest  the  idea  that  tlie 
persons  who  were  engaged  in  throwing  up  the  barrow,  scattered 
them  from  time  to  time  during  the  process."  Assuredly  what- 
ever motive  actuated  those  who  contributed  such  objects  while 
the  sepulchral  mound  was  in  progress  of  erection,  they  were 
not  designed  as  any  slight  to  the  manes  of  the  dead.  In 
districts  remote  from  those  where  the  flint  abounds,  flakes  and 
chips  of  the  prized  material  must  have  been  in  constant  demand 
to  replenish  the  sheaf  of  arrows,  and  replace  the  lost  or  broken 
lance,  knife,  and  scraper.  The  trader  would  barter  the  raw 
material  for  furs  and  other  equivalents,  or  the  industrious 
miner  would  carry  off  an  adequate  supply  for  his  own  future 
use.  Such  smpU  objects,  possessing  a  universally  appreciable 
value,  would  be  as  available  for  current  change  as  the  African 
cowrie,  the  loqua  shells  of  the  Pacific  coast,  or  the  wampum- 
beads  of  the  tribes  to  the  east  of  the  liocky  Mountains.  If 
this  assumption  be  correct,  the  scattermg  of  flint  flakes,  while 
the  mound  was   being  piled  over  the  grave,  was  a  form  of 


gest  the 
Bering  of 
rave  was 
16  sacred 
Dnstantly, 
resents  to 
;  refers  to 
i  maimed 
reader  of 
for  more 


58,  "  occur 

lly  in  the 

often    as 

aws,  drills 

ire   found 

'  in    some 

that  the 

,  scattered 

dly  what- 

acts  while 

they  were 

lead.     In 

flakes  and 

demand 

or  broken 

the  raw 

idustrious 

vn  future 

jpreciable 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE       97 

largebs  not  less  significant  than  any  later  tribute  of  reverence 
to  the  dead.  /  ;■  '      - 

The  sources  whence  such  supplies  of  raw  material  of  the  old 
flint-worker  were  derived,  have  been  sufficiently  explored  to 
furnish  confirmatory  evidence  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  deduc- 
tions suggested  by  otiier  indications  thus  far  noted.  The 
archaeologists  of  Europe  are  now  familiar  with  many  localities 
which  have  been  the  quarries  and  workshops,  as  well  as  the 
settled  abodes,  of  palaeolithic  and  neolithic  man;  nor  are  such 
unknown  in  America,  though  research  has  to  be  greatly  ex- 
tended before  definite  conclusions  can  be  accepted  relative  to 
the  earliest  presence  of  man  on  the  western  continent.  Flint 
and  stone  implements  of  every  variety  of  form,  and  nearly 
every  degree  of  rudeness,  abound  in  the  soil  of  the  New  World. 
But  in  estimating  the  true  significance  of  such  evidence,  it  has 
to  be  borne  in  remembrance  that  its  indigenous  population 
has  not  even  now  abandoned  the  arts  of  their  Stone  period. 
Implements  have  already  been  refeired  to  still  in  use  among 
the  Shoshone,  Texas,  and  other  living  tribes,  ruder  than  any 
yet  recovered  from  the  river-drift  of  France  or  EngLmd ;  whilst 
others,  more  nearly  resembling  the  pahxiolithic  types  of  Europe, 
have  been  met  with,  some  of  them  imbedded  in  the  rolled  gravels, 
or  glacial  drift,  and  associated  with  bones  of  the  mastodon 
and  other  fossil  mammals.  But  the  evidence  as  to  palaeolithic 
origin  has  been,  at  best,  doubtful.  An  imperfect  flint  knife, 
now  in  the  Museum  of  the  University  of  Toronto,  was  recovered 
from  a  depth  of  upwards  of  fourteen  feet,  cmong  rolled  gravel 
and  gold-bearing  quartz  of  the  Grinnel  Leads  in  Kansas  Terri- 
tory. Flint  implements  from  the  auriferous  gravel  of  California 
were  produced  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1855.  According 
to  the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois  for  1866,  stone  axes  and 
flint  spear  heads  were  obtained  from  a  bed  of  local  drift  near 
Alton,  underlying  the  loess,  and  at  the  same  depth  as  bones  of 
the  mastodon.  Similar  discoveries  have  been  repeatedly  noted 
in  Southern  States.  The  river  Chattahoochee,  in  Georgia,  in 
its  course  down  the  Nacoochee  valley,  flovs  through  a  rich 
auriferous  region.  Explorers  in  search  for  gold  have  made 
extensive  cuttinj;**  through  the  underlying  drift-gravel,  down  to 
the  slate  rock  upon  which  it  rests ;  and  during  one  of  these 
excavations,  at  a  denth  of  nine  feet,  intermingled  with  the 

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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


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gravel  and  boulders  of  the  drift,  three  large  implements  were 
found,  nearly  resembling  the  rude  flint  hatchets  of  the  drift 
type.  Examples  of  this  class,  however,  though  repeatedly  noted, 
have  been  too  isolated  to  admit  of  their  use  for  any  such 
comprehensive  inductions  as  the  disclosures  of  the  glacial  drift 
of  north-\yestern  Europe  have  justified.  The  evidence  hitherto 
adduced,  v/heu  implements  of  this  class  have  been  of  flint,  has 
failed  to  establish  their  palteolithic  age,  notwithstanding  their 
recovery  from  ancient  gi'avels.  Implements  of  flint  occur  in 
great  abundance  throughout  vast  areas  of  the  American  con- 
tinent. With  the  fact  before  us  that  even  now  the  Stone 
period  of  its  aborigines  has  not  wholly  passed  away,  careful 
observation  is  required  in  determining  the  probable  age  of 
stray  specimens  buried  even  at  considerable  depths. 

But  disclosures  of  an  actual  American  implement-bearing 
drift  appear  at  length  to  have  beer  met  with  in  the  valley  of 
the  Delaware.  These  show  the  primitive  tool-maker  resorting 
to  a  granular  argillite,  the  cleavage  of  which  adapted  itself  to 
the  requirements  of  his  rude  art.  Professor  Shaler,  in  a  report  on 
the  age  of  the  Delaware  gravel  beds,  describes  this  formation 
as  occurring  from  Virginia  northward  to  Labrador,  though  it  is 
only  in  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  that  the  accompanying 
evidences  of  human  art  have  been  thus  far  recovered.  The 
New  Jersey  drift  is  made  up  of  transported  material,  including 
boulders  and  smaller  fragments  of  granitic,  hypogene,  sandstone, 
and  limestone  rocks,  along  with  water-worn  pebbles  of  the 
same  granular  argillite  as  the  characteristic  stone  implements 
recovered  from  it,  to  which,  from  their  peculiar  shape,  the  name 
of  "turtle-back  celts"  has  been  given.  There  is  little  true 
clay  in  the  deposit  to  give  coherence  to  the  mass.  The  type 
of  pebble  is  subovate,  or  discoidal,  suggesting  its  form  to  be 
due  to  the  action  of  running  water  ;  and  it  seems  probable  that 
the  stone  was  not  quarried  out  of  the  living  rock,  but  that  the 
pebbles  thus  reduced  to  a  convenient  form  were  turned  to 
account  by  the  tool-maker.  The  researches  of  Dr.  Abbott 
have  been  rewarded  by  the  discovery  in  the  drift-gravel  of 
numerous  examples  of  this  peculiar  type  of  impleraent,  for 
which  1  e  one  material  appears  to  have  been  used,  notwitli- 
standiii  the  varied  contents  of  the  drift-gravel  in  which  they 
occur.     As  in  the  case  of  the  French  and  English  river-drift, 


Hi?!'l|: 


ilit.H.' 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE       99 


the  fractured  material  is  found  in  every  stage  of  disintegration. 
Professor  Shaler  says : "  Along  with  the  perfect-looking  implements 
figured  by  Dr.  Abbott,  which  are  apparently  as  clearly  artificial 
as  the  well-known  remains  of  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  there 
are  all  grades  of  irapei-fect  fragments,  down  to  the  pebbles  that 
are  without  a  trace  of  chipping."  But  more  recent  discoveries 
iu  the  Delaware  valley  point  to  remains  of  a  still  earlier  age 
than  those  described  by  Dr.  Abbott.  These  naturally  attracted 
attention  to  the  region ;  for  there,  for  the  first  time,  the 
American  archfeologist  saw  a  promise  of  disclosures  correspond- 
ing in  character  to  those  of  the  European  drift-gravels.  A 
systematic  and  prolonged  series  of  investigations  accordingly 
carried  out  by  Mr.  Hilborne  T.  Cresson,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Peabody  Museum,  have  resulted  in  fresh  disclosures  of  early 
American  man.  The  Naaman's  Creek  rock-shelter,  carefully 
explored  by  him,  is  situated  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  imme- 
diately to  the  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  There  in 
underlying  deposits,  claimed  to  be  of  Post-Glacial  age,  rudely 
chipped  points  and  other  implements,  all  of  argillite,  were 
found ;  and  at  a  higher  level,  others  of  argillite,  but  inter- 
mingled with  bone  implements,  and  fragments  of  rude  pottery, 
and  alongside  of  these,  implements  fashioned  of  quartzitti  and 
jasper.  The  antiquity  assigned  to  the  Delaware  implements, 
as  determined  by  the  age  of  the  tool-bearing  gravel,  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  Trenton  gravels  previously  referred  to  ; 
but  though  remains  of  fifteen  different  species  of  animals, 
including  fragments  of  a  human  skull,  were  recovered  from  the 
cave  or  rock-shelter,  they  include  none  but  existing  fauna. 
But  the  evidence  of  antiquity  is  based  most  confidently  on  the 
discovery  of  palaeoliths  in  situ  in  the  true  Philadelphia  red 
gravel.  Professor  G.  F.  Wright  remarks,  in  discussing  the  rela- 
tive ages  of  the  Trenton  and  Philadelphia  red  gravel,  that  both 
he  and  Professor  Lewis  came  to  the  same  conclusion :  assign- 
ing the  deposition  of  the  red  gravel  to  a  period  when  the  ice 
had  its  greatest  extension,  and  when  there  was  considerable 
local  depression  of  the  land.  "  During  this  period  of  greatest 
ice-extension  and  depression,  the  Philadelphia  lied  Gravel  and 
Brick  Clay  were*  deposited  by  the  ice-laden  floods  which 
annually  poured  down  the  valley  in  the  summer  season.  As 
the  ice  retreated  towards  the  headwaters  of  the  valley,  the 


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loo      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

period  was  marked  also  by  a  re-elevation  of  the  land  to  about 
its  present  height,  when  the  later  deposits  of  gravel  at  Trenton 
took  place.  Dr  Abbott's  discoveries  at  Trenton  prove  the 
presence  of  man  on  the  continent  at  that  stage  of  the  Glacial 
epoch.  Mr.  Cresson's  discoveries  prove  the  presence  of  man  at 
a  far  earlier  stage.  How  much  earlier  will  depend  upon  our 
interpretation  of  the  general  facts  bearing  on  the  question  of 
the  duality  of  the  Glacial  epoch,"  ^ — a  branch  of  the  inquiry 
which  it  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  here.  It  is  sufficient  to 
note  that  this  argillite — an  altogether  inferior  material  to  the 
flint,  or  hornstone  of  later  tool-makers, — appears,  thus  far,  to  be 
a  characteristic  feature  of  American  palaeolithic  art.  The 
locality  of  the  native  rock  is  still  undetermined ;  but  imple- 
ments fashioned  of  it  have  been  found  in  great  numbers  along 
the  escarpments  facing  the  river  Delaware.  Professor  Shaler 
describes  the  material  as  a  curious  granular  argillite,  the  like 
of  which,  he  says, "  I  do  not  know  in  place."  Should  the  native 
rock  be  hereafter  identified,  with  traces  of  the  manufactured 
celts  in  its  vicinity,  it  may  help  to  throw  light  on  the  age  and 
history  of  the  primitive  American  implement-makers. 

The  flint  of  the  cretaceous  deposits  does  not  occur  in 
America.  True  chalk  is  all  but  unknown  among  the  cretaceous 
strata  of  the  continent,  although  it  has  been  found  in  the  form 
of  a  somewhat  extensive  bed  in  Western  Kansas.  In  Texas, 
the  cretaceous  limestones  contain  in  places  hornstone  nodules 
distributed  through  them,  like  the  flint  nodules  in  the  upper 
chalk  beds  of  Europe.  But  though,  so  far,  differing  in  origin, 
the  hornstone  and  flint  are  practically  identical ;  and  the  chert, 
or  hornstone,  which  abounds  in  the  chert-layers  of  the  cornifer- 
ous  formation,  of  common  occurrence  in  Canada,  is  simply  a 
variety  of  flint,  consisting  essentially,  like  the  substance  to 
which  that  name  is  specifically  applied,  of  amorphous  silica, 
and  with  a  similar  cleavage.  This  Devonian  formation  is  made 
up  chiefly  of  limestone  strata,  parted  in  many  places  by  layers 
of  chert  which  vary  in  thickness  from  half  an  inch  to  three  or 
four  inches.  The  limestones  are  more  or  less  bituminous,  and 
frequently  contain  chert  nodules.  Most  of  their  fossils  are 
silicified.  The  formation  underlies  a  considerable  portion  of 
South-western  Ontario.     Out-crops  occur  at  Port  Dover,  Port 

^  PulccoUlhic  Man  in  Eastern  and  Ventral  North  America,  pp.  152,  153. 


lllw.l';.!*:  ,; 

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TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      vox 


Colbornc,  Kincardine,  Woodstock,  St.  Mary's,  and  other 
localities.  At  a  point  which  I  have  explored  more  than  once 
near  Port  Dover,  implements  occur  in  considerable  numbers, 
along  with  fractured  or  imperfect  specimens,  mingled  with 
flakes  and  chippings,  evidently  indicative  of  a  spot  where  their 
manufacture  was  carried  on.  At  this,  and  some  others  of  the 
localities  here  named,  Canadian  flint  pits  may  be  looked  for. 
Among  other  objects  illustrative  of  primitive  native  arts  in  the 
Museum  of  the  University  of  Toronto,  is  a  block  of  flint  or 
brown  chert,  from  which  flakes  have  been  struck  off  for  the 
use  of  the  native  arrow-maker.  This  flint  core  was  found  in  a 
field  on  Paisley  Block,  in  Guelph  Township,  along  with  a 
large  flake,  a  scraper,  and  fourteen  arrow  heads  of  various 
sizes,  all  made  from  the  ^ame  material.  Alongside  of  them 
lay  a  flint  hammer-stone  bearing  marks  of  long  use.  All  of 
those  objects  are  now  in  the  University  Museum,  and  appear  to 
indicate  the  site  of  an  aboriginal  workshop,  with  one  of  the 
tools  of  the  ancient  arrow-maker,  who  there  fashioned  his 
implements  and  weapons,  and  traded  with  them  to  supply  the 
need  of  the  old  Huron  or  Petun  Indians  of  Western  Canada. 
The  Spider  Islands  in  Lake  Winnipeg,  near  its  outlet,  have 
been  noted  by  Dr.  Eobert  Bell,  as  a  favourite  resort  of  the  old 
workers  in  flint,  where  they  could  trade  the  products  of  their 
industry  with  parties  of  Indians  passing  in  their  canoes.  "  I 
have  found,"  he  says,  "  a  considerable  number  of  new  flint 
implements,  all  of  one  pattern,  in  a  grave  near  one  of  those 
sites  of  an  old  factory  " ;  the  body  of  a  man — presumably  the 
old  arrow-maker, — had  been  buried  there  in  a  sitting  posture, 
surrounded  with  the  latest  products  of  his  industrious  skill. 

In  1875  I  devoted  several  weeks  to  a  careful  study  of 
some  of  the  principal  groups  of  ancient  earthworks  in  the 
Ohio  valley,  and  visited  Flint  Kidge  to  examine  a  group  of  native 
flmt  pits  in  the  old  Shawnee  territory.  The  Shawnees  were 
formerly  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe  of  Indians ;  but  they 
took  part,  in  1763,  in  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  and  were  nearly 
exterminated  in  a  battle  fought  in  the  vicinity  of  their  old 
quarries.  From  these  it  is  probable  that  the  older  race  of  Mound- 
Builders  of  the  Ohio  valley  procured  the  material  from  which 
they  manufactured  many  of  their  implements,  including  some 
of  those  used  in  the  construction  of  their  great  earthworks. 


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I02       TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

'  Flint  Eidge,  as  the  locality  is  called,  a  siliceous  deposit  of 
the  Carboniferous  age,  extends  through  the  State  of  Ohio,  from 
Newark  to  New  Lexington.  It  has  been  worked  at  various 
points  in  search  of  the  prized  material ;  and  the  ancient  pits 
can  still  be  recognised  over  an  extensive  area  by  the  funnel- 
shaped  hollows,  or  slighter  depressions  where  the  accumulated 
vegetable  mould  of  many  winters  has  nearly  effaced  the  traces 
of  the  old  miners.  The  chert,  or  hornstone,  of  this  locality 
accords  with  that  from  which  the  implements  recovered  from 
the  mounds  appear  to  have  been  chiefly  made.  One  fact 
which  such  disclosures  place  beyond  doubt,  namely,  that  the 
so-called  Mound-Bailders  had  not  advanced  beyond  the  stage 
of  flint  or  stone  implements,  is  of  great  significance.  Their 
numbers  are  proved  by  the  extent  of  their  earthworks  in  many 
localities  in  the  Ohio  valley ;  and  the  consequent  supply  of 
implements  needed  by  them  as  builders  must  have  involved 
a  constant  demand  for  the  flint-miners  and  tool-makers.  The 
great  earthworks  at  Newark  are  among  the  most  extensive 
structures  of  this  class,  covering  an  area  of  several  miles,  and 
characterised  by  the  perplexing  element  of  elaborate  geometrical 
figures,  executed  on  a  gigantic  scale  by  a  people  still  in  the  primi- 
tive stage  of  stone  implements,  and  yet  giving  proof  of  skill  fully 
equalling,  in  the  execution  of  their  geometrical  designs,  that  of 
the  scientific  land-surveyor.  On  this  special  aspect  of  the 
question,  it  may  be  well  to  revert  to  notes  written  immediately 
after  a  careful  survey  of  the  Newark  earthworks,  so  as  to  suggest 
more  clearly  their  extent  and  the  consequent  number  of  work- 
men and  of  tools  in  demand  for  their  execution.  The  sacred 
enclosures  have  to  be  classed  apart  from  the  military  works  of 
the  Mound-Builders.  Their  elaborate  fortifications  occupy 
isolated  heights  specially  adapted  for  defence,  whereas  the  broad 
river- terraces  have  been  selected  for  their  religious  works. 
There,  on  the  great  unbroken  levels,  they  form  groups  of  sym- 
metrical enclosures,  square,  circular,  elliptical,  and  octagonal,  con- 
nected by  long  parallel  avenues,  suggesting  analogies  with  the 
British  Avebury,  the  Breton  Carnac,  or  even  with  the  temples 
and  sphinx-avenues  of  the  Eg}'ptian  Karnak  and  Luxor ;  but  all 
wrought  of  earth,  with  the  simple  tools  made  from  quartzite, 
chert,  or  hornstone,  derived  from  quarries  and  flint  pits,  such  as 
those  of  Flint  liidge,  the  localities  of  which  have  been  identified. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      103 


For  a  time  the  tfsndency  among  American  arcliaeologists 
was  to  exaggerate  the  antiquity  of  those  works,  and  to  over- 
estimate the  artistic  skill  of  their  builders.  But  it  now 
appears  that  some  vague  memories  of  the  race  have  been 
perpetuated.  The  traditions  of  the  Delawares  preserved  the 
remembrance  of  the  Talligew  or  Tallegewi,  a  powerful  nation 
whose  western  borders  extended  to  the  Mississippi,  over  whom 
they,  in  conjunction  with  the  fierce  warrior  race  of  Wyandots 
or  Iroquois,  triumphed.  The  old  name  of  the  Mound-Builders 
is  believed  to  survive,  in  modified  form,  in  that  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  and  River ;  and  the  Chatta-Muskogee  tribes, 
including  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Creeks,  and  other  southern 
Indians  of  the  same  stock,  are  supposed  to  represent  the 
ancient  race.  The  broad  fertile  region  stretching  southward 
from  the  Apalachian  Mountains  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  must 
have  attracted  settlers  from  earliest  times.  It  was  latterly 
occupied  by  various  tribes  of  this  Chatta-Muskogee  stock ;  but 
intermingled  with  others  speaking  essentially  different  lan- 
guages, and  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  the  older  occu- 
pants of  the  region  on  whom  the  Tallegewi  intruded  when 
driven  out  of  the  Ohio  valley.  The  Cherokees  preserved  a 
tradition  of  having  come  from  the  upper  Ohio.  They  have 
been  classed  by  the  Washington  ethnologists  as  a  distant 
branch  of  the  Iroquois  stock;  but  Mr.  Hale,  finding  their 
grammar  mainly  Huron -Iroquois,  while  their  vocabulary  is 
largely  derived  from  another  source,  ingeniously  infers  that  one 
portion  of  the  despairing  Talligewi  may  have  cast  in  their  lot 
with  the  conquering  race,  aa  the  Tlascalans  did  with  the 
Spaniards  iu  their  war  against  the  Aztecs.  Driven  down  the 
Mississippi  till  they  reached  the  country  of  the  Choctaws, 
they,  mingling  with  friendly  tribes,  became  the  founders  of 
the  Cherokee  nation.  Among  the  older  native  tribes  were  the 
Catawbas  and  the  Natchez,  They  were  sun-worshippers, 
maintained  a  perpetual  fire,  and  regarded  the  great  luminary 
as  a  goddess,  and  the  mother  of  their  race.  It  is  probable  that 
in  their  religious  rites  some  memory  survived  of  the  more 
elaborate  worship  of  the  old  occupants  of  the  Ohio  valley ;  for  the 
Natchez  claimed  that  in  their  prosperity  they  numbered  five 
hundred  towns,  and  their  northern  borders  extended  to  the  Ohio. 

De  Soto  traversed  the  Chatta-Muskogee  region,  when,  in 


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104      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

1540,  he  discovered  the  Mississippi.  He  found  there  a 
numerous  population  lodged  in  well-constructed  dwellings,  and 
with  their  council -houses  surmounting  lofty  mounds.  De 
Soto  and  later  travellers  noted  their  extensive  fields  of  maize, 
beans,  squashes,  and  tobacco,  and  their  well -finished  fiint 
implements.  They  were  Mound  -  Builders ;  and  though  no 
longer  manifesting  in  extended  geometrical  earthworks  the 
special  characteristic  of  the  old  race,  it  is  assumed  that  in 
them  we  recover  traces  of  the  vanished  people  of  the  Ohio 
valley. 

With  this  assignment  of  the  Mound- Builders  to  an  affinity 
with  Indian  nations  still  represented  by  existing  tribes,  the  vague 
idea  of  some  strange  prehistoric  American  race  of  remote 
antiquity  vanishes ;  and  the  latter  tendency  has  been  rather  to 
underestimate  their  distinctive  peculiarities.  Some  of  these 
seem  to  separate  them  from  any  Indian  tribe  of  which  definite 
accounts  have  been  preserved ;  and  foremost  among  them  is 
the  evidence  of  comprehensive  design,  and  of  scientific  skill  in 
the  construction  of  their  sacred  enclosures.  The  predominant 
impression  suggested  by  the  great  military  earthworks  of  the 
Mound-Builders  is  that  of  a  people  co-operating  under  the 
guidance  of  approved  leaders,  with  a  view  to  the  defence  of 
large  communities.  Elaborate  fortifications  are  erected  on  well- 
chosen  hills  or  bluffs,  and  strengthened  by  ditches,  mounds,  and 
complicated  approaches ;  but  the  lines  of  earthwork  are  every- 
where adapted  to  the  natuial  features  of  the  site.  The  sacred 
enclosures  are,  on  the  contrary,  constructed  on  the  level  river- 
terraces  with  elaborate  artificiality  of  design,  but  on  a  scale  of 
magnitude  not  less  imposing  than  that  of  the  largest  hill-forts. 
On  first  entering  the  great  circle  at  Newark,  and  looking  across 
its  broad  trench  at  the  lofty  embankment  overshadowed  with 
tall  forest  trees,  my  thoughts  reverted  to  the  Antonine  vallum, 
which  by  like  evidence  still  records  the  presence  of  the  Eoman 
masters  of  the  world  in  North  Britain  l700  years  ago. 
But  after  driving  over  a  circuit  of  several  miles,  embracing 
the  remarkable  earthworks  of  which  that  is  only  a  single 
feature,  and  satisfying  myself  by  personal  observation  of  the 
existence  of  parallel  avenues  which  have  been  traced  for  nearly 
two  miles  and  of  the  grand  oval,  circles,  and  octagon,  the 
smallest  of  which  measures  upwards  of  half  a  mile  in  circuni- 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      105 

ference,  all  idea  of  mere  combined  labour  is  lost  in  the  higher 
conviction  of  manifest  skill,  and  even  science.  The  octagon 
indeed  is  not  a  perfect  figure.  Its  angles  are  not  coincident, 
but  the  sides  are  very  nearly  equal ;  and  the  enclosure 
approaches  so  closely  to  an  accurate  figure  that  its  eiTor  is  only 
demonstrated  by  actual  survey.  Connected  with  it  by  parallel 
embankments  350  feet  long,  is  a  true  circle,  measuring 
2880  feet  in  circumference ;  and  distant  nearly  a  mile  from 
this,  but  connected  with  it  by  an  elaborate  series  of  earthworks, 
is  the  great  circular  structure  previously  referred  to.  Its  actual 
form  is  an  ellipse;  the  different  diametf  3  of  which  aro  1250 
feet  and  1150  feet  respectively;  and  it  enclose:  an  area 
of  upwards  of  30  acres.  At  the  entrance  the  enclosing 
embankment  curves  outward  on  either  side  for  a  distance  of 
100  feet,  leaving  a  level  way  between  the  ditches,  80  feet 
wide,  and  at  this  point  it  measures  about  30  feet  from  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  to  the  summit.  The  area  of  the  enclosure 
is  almost  perfectly  level,  so  that  during  rain-floods  the  water 
stands  at  a  uniform  height  nearly  to  the  edge  of  the  ditch. 

The  skulls  of  the  Mound-Builden  have  been  appealed  to  for 
indications  of  the  intellectual  capacity  of  the  ancient  race ;  but 
mounds  and  earthworks  were  habitually  resorted  to  at  long 
subsequent  dates  as  favourite  places  of  interment;  so  that 
skulls  derived  from  modern  graves  are  ascribed  to  the  ancient 
race;  and  much  difficulty  has  been  found  in  agreeing  on  a 
typical  mound  skull.  Even  after  making  allowance  for  modifi- 
cations due  to  artificial  malformation,  and  eliminating  those 
derived  from  superficial  interments,  a  very  noticeable  diversity 
is  found  in  the  comparatively  few  undoubtedly  genuine  mound 
skulls,  which  may  lend  some  countenance  to  the  idea  of  the 
presence  of  two  essentially  distinct  races  among  the  ancient 
settlers  in  the  Ohio  valley.^  It  seems  to  accord  with  the  unmis- 
takable traces  of  intellectual  progress  of  a  kind  foreign  to  the 
attainments  of  any  known  race  of  the  North  American  continent, 
thus  found  in  association  with  arts  and  methods  of  work  not 
greatly  in  advance  of  those  of  the  Indian  savage.  The  only 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem  seems  to  present  itself  in 
the  assumption  of  the  existence  among  them  of  a  theocratic 
order,  like  the  priests  of  ancient  Egypt,  the  Brahmins  of  India, 

^  Vide  Prehistoric  Man,  3rd  ed.  ii.  132. 


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or  the  Incas  of  Peru,  under  whom  the  vanished  race  of  the 
Ohio  valley — Tallegewi,  Muskogees,  Natchez,  Alleghans,  or 
other  American  aborigines, — executed  their  vast  geometrical 
earthworks  with  such  mathematical  accuracy. 

The  contents  of  the  earthworks  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
valleys  show  that  the  copper,  found  in  a  pure  metallic  condi- 
tion at  various  points  around  Lake  Superior,  was  not  unknown 
to  their  constructors.  But  in  this  they  had  little  advantage 
over  the  Iroquois  and  Algonkin  tribes,  in  whose  grave  mounds 
copper  axes  and  spear  heads  occasionally  occur.  It  is  even 
possible  that  working  parties  were  despatched  from  time  to 
time  to  the  ancient  copper  mines  on  the  Kewenaw  peninsula, 
on  Lake  Superior,  to  bring  back  supplies  of  the  prized  malleable 
rock,  which  could  be  bent  and  hammered  into  shape  in  a  way 
that  no  other  stone  was  susceptible  of.  But  the  labours  of 
the  native  miners  were  inadequate  to  provide  supplies  that 
could  in  any  degree  suffice  to  displace  the  flint  or  quartzite  of 
the  implement-maker.  One  use,  however,  has  been  suggested 
for  the  copper,  in  relation  to  the  labours  of  the  flint-workers. 
Mr.  George  Ercol  Sellers,  whose  researches  among  the  work- 
shops of  the  ancient  tool-makers  have  thrown  much  light  on 
their  processes,  was  led,  from  careful  observation  of  some  of 
their  unfinished  work,  to  the  opinion  that  copper  was  in 
special  request  in  the  operations  of  the  flint -flaker.  After 
referring  to  the  well-known  use  of  horn  or  bone-flakers,  he 
thus  proceeds :  "  From  the  narrowness  of  the  cuts  in  some  of 
the  specimens,  and  the  thickness  of  the  stone  where  they 
terminate,  I  have  inclined  to  the  belief  that,  at  the  period 
they  were  made,  the  aborigines  had  something  stronger  than 
bone  to  operate  with,  as  I  have  never  been  able  to  imitate 
some  of  their  deep  heavy  cuts  with  it ;  but  I  have  succeeded 
by  using  a  copper  point,  which  possesses  all  the  properties  of 
the  bone,  in  holding  to  its  work  without  slipping,  and  has  the 
strength  for  direct  thrust  required."  ^  No  copper  tool,  how- 
ever, was  recovered  by  Mr.  Sellers  among  the  vast  accumulations 
of  implements  and  waste  chips,  hereafter  described,  on  the  sites 
of  the  ancient  workers'  industrioup,  operations,  though  some 
of  those  found  elsewhere  may  have  been  used  for  such  a 
purpose. 

^  Smithsonian  Reports,  Part  I.  1885,  p.  880. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      107 

The  evidence  tliat  the  ancient  dwellers  in  the  Ohio  valley 
were  still  in  their  Stone  age  is  indisputable.  But  to  a  people 
apparently  under  the  guidance  of  an  order  or  cast  far  in 
advance  of  themselves  in  some  important  branches  of  know- 
ledge, and  by  whom  the  utility  of  the  metals  was  beginning 
to  be  discerned — though  they  had  not  yet  mastered  the  first 
step  in  metallurgy  by  the  use  of  fire, — their  speedy  advance 
beyond  the  neolithic  stage  was  inevitable.  But  an  open 
valley,  accessible  on  all  sides,  was  peculiarly  unfavourable  for 
the  first  transitional  stage  of  a  people  just  emerging  from 
baibarism.  Their  numbers,  it  is  obvious,  were  considerable; 
and  agriculture  must  have  been  carried  out  on  a  large  scale  to 
furnish  the  means  of  subsistence  for  a  settled  community. 
They  had  entered  on  a  course  which,  if  unimpeded,  must  have 
inevitably  tended  to  develop  the  higher  elements  of  social  life 
and  political  organisation.  But  their  duration  as  a  aettled 
community  appears  to  have  been  brief.  Some  faint  tradition 
of  the  irruption  of  the  northern  barbarians  of  the  New  World 
survives.  The  Iroquois,  that  indomitable  race  of  savage 
warriors,  swept  through  the  valley  with  desolating  fury ;  the 
dawn  of  civilisation  on  the  northern  continent  of  America 
was  abruptly  arrested;  and  the  present  name  of  the  great 
river  along  the  banks  and  on  the  tributaries  of  which  the 
memorials  of  the  Tallegewi  abound,  is  one  conferred  on  it  by 
their  supplanters,  who  were  equally  successful  in  thwarting  the 
aims  of  France  to  introduce  the  higher  forms  of  European 
civilisation  there. 

Some  singularly  interesting  information  relative  to  the 
traces  of  the  ancient  flint -workers  in  the  Ohio  valley,  is 
furnished  by  Mr.  Sellers.  His  observations  were  made  when 
that  region  still  remained,  to  a  large  extent,  undisturbed  by 
civilised  intruders  on  the  deserted  Indian  settlements.  He 
notes  many  places  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  and  its 
tributaries,  at  an  elevation  above  the  spring  floods  except  at 
rare  intervals  of  violent  freshets,  where  the  flaking  process  of 
the  old  flint -workers  had  been  extensively  carried  on,  and 
where  cores  and  waste  chips  abound.  "At  one  of  those 
places,  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river,"  he  says,  "  I  found 
a  number  of  chert  blocks,  as  when  first  brought  from  the 
quarry,  from  which  no  regular  flakes  had  been  split;   some 


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io8       TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

liacl  a  single  cornor  broken  off  as  a  starting-point.  On  the 
sharp  right-angled  edge  of  several  I  found  the  indentations 
left  by  small  tlake.s  having  been  knocked  ofF,  evidently  by 
blows,  as  a  preparation  for  seating  the  flaking  tool.  Most  of 
the  localities  referred  to  are  now  under  cultivation.  IJefore  beini,' 
cleared  of  the  timber  and  subjected  to  the  plough,  no  surface 
relics  were  found,  but  on  the  caving  and  wearing  away  of  the 
river  banks,  many  spear  and  arrow  heads  and  other  stone 
relics  were  left  on  the  shore.  After  the  lantl  had  been  cleared, 
and  the  plough  had  loosened  the  soil,  one  of  the  great  floods 
that  occur  at  intervals  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  would 
wash  away  the  loose  soil,  leaving  the  great  flint  workshojis 
exposed."  There,  accordingly,  he  notes  among  the  materials 
thus  brought  to  light,  the  cores  or  nuclei  thrown  aside,  caches 
stored  with  finished  and  unfinished  implements  and  flakes,  the 
tools  and  wastage,  vast  accumulations  of  splinters,  etc.,  uU 
sei'ving  to  illustrate  the  processes  of  the  ancient  flint-workers. 
The  depth  at  which  some  accumulations  occur,  overlaid  by 
the  growth  of  the  so-called  primeval  forest,  points  to  them  as 
contemporary  with,  if  not  in  some  cases  older  than,  the  earth- 
works of  the  Mound-Builders.  The  extent,  indeed,  to  which 
some  are  overlaid  by  subsequent  accumulations  suggests  n 
remote  era.  In  1853  Mr.  Sellers  first  visited  the  site  of  one 
of  those  ancient  work -yards,  on  the  northern  bank  of  the 
Saline  river,  about  three  miles  above  its  junction  with  the 
Ohio.  The  region  was  then  covered  Avith  dense  forest,  with 
the  exception  of  a  narrow  strip  along  the  bank  of  the  river, 
which  had  been  cleared  in  connection  with  recently  opened 
coal  works.  But  at  a  later  date,  in  sinking  a  cistern,  about 
200  yards  from  the  river  bank,  the  excavation  was  made 
through  a  mass  of  flint  chips.  Subsequently  heavy  rains, 
after  ploughing,  exposed  some  spears  and  arrow  points.  "  But 
it  was  not  until  the  great  flood  of  the  winter  of  1862  and 
1863  that  overflowed  this  ridge  three  or  four  feet  with  a  rapid 
current,  that  the  portion  under  cultivation  on  the  river  bank 
was  denuded,  exposing  over  six  acres  of  what  at  first  appeared 
to  be  a  mass  of  chips  or  stone  rubbish,  but  amongst  it  were 
found  many  hammer-stones,  celts,  grooved  axes,  cores,  flakes, 
almost  innumerable  scrapers  and  other  implements,  and  many 
tynes  from  the  buck  or  stag,  all  of  which  bore  evidence  of 


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:itj:.i*.,r!'»i|iil 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      109 

liftving  been  scraped  to  a  point.  On  exposure  to  the  nir  they 
fell  to  ])ieces."  The  actual  site  of  tlie  quarry  appears  to  liave 
been  subsequently  identified.  "  The  j,'reater  number  of  cores, 
scattered  thikes,  finished  and  unfinished  inij)lenicnts,  are  of  the 
chert  from  a  depression  in  a  ridj^e  three  miles  to  the  south- 
east, where  there  are  abundant  in<1ications  of  lar},'e  quantities 
having  been  quarried."  Hut  the  ame  great  work-yard  of  the 
ancient  Mound-Ikiildors  furnishci,  evidence  of  other  sources  of 
supply.  Mr.  Sellers  noted  the  finding  "  a  few  cores  of  the 
white  chert  from  Missouri,  and  the  red  and  yellow  jasper  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,"  but  he  adds,  "  the  flakes  of  these 
have  mostly  been  found  in  nests  or  small  caches,  many  of 
wliich  have  been  exposed ;  and  in  every  case  the  flakes  they 
contained  were  more  or  less  worked  on  their  edges ;  whereas 
tlie  flakes  from  the  neighbouring  chert  preserved  their  sharp 
edges  as  when  split  from  the  mass.  These  cache  specimens 
with  their  worked  serrated  edges  would,  if  found  singly,  be 
classed  as  saws  or  cutting  implements.  Hut  here  where  found 
in  mass,  evidently  brought  from  a  distance,  to  a  place  where 
harder  chert  of  a  much  better  character  for  cutting  implements 
abounds,  they  tell  a  different  story."  The  material  was  better 
adapted  for  the  manufacture  of  certain  classes  of  small  imple- 
ments much  in  demand,  and  the  serrated  edge  is  simply  the 
natural  result  of  the  mode  of  working  of  this  species  of  chert 
and  of  the  jasper. 

The  fine-grained  quartzite  was  also  in  request,  especially 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  largest  class  of  implements,  iu- 
cludiug  hoes  and  spades,  equally  needed  by  the  primitive 
agriculturist,  and  by  the  navvies  to  whose  industrious  toil 
the  vast  earthworks  of  the  Ohio  valley  are  due.  The  sit-  of 
the  old  quartzite  quarry  appears  to  be  about  eight  miles  from 
the  banks  of  Saline  river ;  but  there  are  many  other  localities 
scattered  over  the  region  extending  from  southern  Illinois  to 
the  Mississippi,  where  the  same  substitute  for  chert  or  horn- 
stone  occurs.  Some  of  the  quartzite  hoes  or  spades  measure  six- 
teen inches  in  length,  with  a  breadth  of  from  six  to  seven  inches, 
and  evince  remarkable  dexterity  and  skill  in  their  manufacture. 
Fere,  accordingly,  it  becomes  apparent  that  there  was  a  time 
in  the  history  of  this  continent,  before  its  existence  was 
revealed  to  the  race  that  now  peoples  the  Ohio  valley,  when 


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no      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

that  region  was  the  scene  of  busy  native  industry ;  aad  its 
manufacturers  quarried  anr^  wrought  the  chert,  jasper,  and 
quartzite,  and  traded  the  products  of  their  skill  over  an 
extensive  region.  But  the  germs  of  an  incipient  native 
civilisation  were  trodden  out  by  the  inroads  of  savage  warriors 
from  the  north ;  and  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  industrious 
community  were  replaced  by  what  appeared  to  La  Salle,  the 
discoverer  and  first  explorer  of  Ohio  river,  as  the  primeval 
forest. 

It  throws  an  interesting  light  on  the  industrial  processes 
of  the  ancient  flint-workers  to  learn  that,  even  in  a  region 
where  the  useful  chert  abounded,  they  went  far  afield  in 
search  of  other  materials  specially  adapted  for  some  classes  of 
implements.  They  v.'ere  unquestionably  a  settled  community, 
in  a  higher  stage  than  any  of  the  tribes  found  in  occupation 
of  that  or  any  neighbouring  region  when  first  visited  by 
Europeans.  But  many  tribes,  both  of  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States,  habitually  travelled  far  distances  to  the  sea 
coast,  where  still  the  ancient  shell  mounds  attest  their  pres- 
ence. The  rout(  s  thus  annually  pursued  by  the  Indians  of 
the  interior  of  l*ennsylvania,  for  example,  were  familiar  to  the 
early  surveyors,  and  some  of  their  trails  undoubtedly  marked 
the  footprints  of  many  generations.  In  traversing  those 
routes,  as  well  as  in  their  autumnal  encampments  on  the 
coast,  opportunities  were  afforded  of  selecting  suitable  materials 
for  their  implements  from  localities  remote  from  their  homes. 
The  lines  of  those  old  trails  have  accordingly  yielded  numerous 
examples  of  the  wayfarers'  weapons  and  tools,  as  well  as 
of  unfinished  implements.  V/e  are  apt  to  think  of  a  people 
in  their  Stone  period  as  merely  turning  to  account  "materials 
lying  as  accessible  to  all  as  the  loose  stones  employed  as 
missiles  by  the  vagrant  schoolboy.  But  such  an  idea  is 
manifestly  inapplicable,  not  only  to  the  arts  of  communities 
like  those  by  whom  the  earthworks  of  the  Ohio  valley  were 
constructed,  but  to  many  far  older  workers  in  flint  or  stone. 
The  Indian  arrow-maker  and  the  pipe-maker,  it  is  manifest, 
often  travelled  great  distances  for  the  material  best  suited  to 
their  manufactures;  and  the  use  of  flint  or  hornstone  for 
elingstones,  lance  and  arrow  heads,  as  well  as  for  knifes, 
scrapers,  axes,  and  other  domestic  and  agricultural  tools,  must 


W 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      in 


have  involved  a  constant  demand  for  fresh  supplies.     It  might 
be  assumed,  therefore,  apart  from  all  direct  evidence,  that  a 
regular  system  of  quarrying  for  the  raw  material  both  of  the  pipe 
and  the  implement-maker  was  pursued ;  and  that  by  trade  or 
barter  the  pipestone  of  divers  qualities,  and  the  chert  or  horn- 
stone,  the  quartzite,  jasper,  and  other  useful  minerals,  were  thus 
furnished  to  tribes  whose  homesteads  and   hunting-grounds 
yielded  no  such  needful  supplies.     But  the  same  region  which 
abounds  in  such  remarkable  evidences  of  the  ingenious  arts  of 
a  vanished  race,  also  furnishes  traces  of  the  old  miners,  by 
whose  industry  the  flint  was  quarried  and  roughly  chipped 
into  available  forms  for  transport  to  distant  localities,  or  for 
barter  among  the  Mound-Builders  in  the  region  traversed  by 
the  great  river.      At  various  points  on  Flint  Eidge,  Ohio, 
and  localities   far   beyond  the    limits    of  that    state,   as    at 
Leavenworth,  300  miles  south  of  Cincinnati,  where  the  gray 
flint  abounds,  evidences  of  systematic  quarrying  illustrate  the 
character  and  extent  of  this   primitive  commerce.     Funnel- 
shaped  pits  occur,  in  many  cases  filled  up  with  the  accumu- 
lated vegetable  mould  of  centuries,  or  only  traceable  by  a 
slight  depression  in  tha  surface  of  the  ground.     When  cleared 
out,  they  extend  to  a  depth  of  from  four  or  five,  to  nearly 
twenty  feet.     On  removing  the  mould,  the  sloping  sides  of 
the  pit  are  found  to  be  covered  with  pieces  of  fractured  flint, 
intermingled  with  unfinished  or  broken  implements,  and  with 
others  partially  reduced  to    shape.      The    largest  hoes    and 
spades  hitherto  noted  appear  to  have  been  fashioned  of  quart- 
zite, but  those  of  most  common  occurrence  in  Ohio  and  Ken- 
tucky are  made  of  the  gray  flint  or  chert,  which  abounds  in 
the  Flint  Eidge  pits  in  blocks  amply  sufficing  for  the  manu- 
facture of  tools  upwards  of  a  foot  in  length,  such  as  may  be 
assumed  to  have  been  employed  in  the  construction  of  the 
great  earthworks.     But  the  transportation  of  the  unwrought 
blocks  of  homstone  to  the  work-yards  in  the  valley  would  have 
involved  great  labour  in  the  construction  of  roads,  as  well  as 
of  sledges  or  waggons  suited  to  such  traffic.      In  lieu  of  this, 
tne  accumulated  waste  chips  in  the  quarries  show  the  amount 
of  labour  that  was  expended  there  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
transport  of  the  useful  material.    Suitable  flakes  and  chips  were 
no  doubt  also  carried  off  to  be  turned  to  account  for  scrapers, 


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112       TRADE  AND  COMMENCE  IN  TH     STONE  AGE 

knives,  und  other  small  implements.  Partially  shaped  disks 
and  other  pieces  of  all  sizes  abound  in  the  pits,  but  the  finer 
manipulation,  by  means  of  which  small  arrow  heads,  lances, 
drills,  scrapers,  etc.,  were  fashioned,  was  reserved  for  leisure 
hours  at  home,  and  for  the  patient  labour  of  the  skilled  tool- 
maker,  for  whose  use  the  raw  material  was  chiefly  quarried. 

In  the  tool-bearing  drift  of  France  and  England  the  large 
characteristic  flint  implements  occur  in  beds  of  gravel  and  clay 
abounding  in  flakes  and  chips  in  every  stage  of  accidental 
fracture,  to  some  of  which  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  assigned  an 
artificial  origin  and  very  fanciful  significance.  But  if  the 
palaeolithic  flint-worker  in  any  case  quarried  for  his  material 
before  the  latest  geological  reconstruction  of  the  beds  of  rolled 
gravel,  the  fractured  flints  may  include  traces  of  primeval 
quarrying  as  well  as  of  the  tool-maker's  labours ;  for  the 
rolled-gravel  beds  occur  in  river  valleys  best  adapted  to  the 
habitat  of  post-glacial  man. 

In  a  report  furnished  to  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archae- 
ology, by  Mr.  Paul  Schumacher,  he  contributer  some  interesting 
evidence  relative  to  the  stone-workers  of  Southern  California. 
The  Indians  of  the  Pacific  coast,  south  of  San  Francisco,  not 
only  furnished  themselves  with  chisels,  axes,  and  the  like  class 
of  implements,  but  with  pots  for  culinary  purposes,  made  of 
steatite,  usually  of  a  greenish -gray  colour.  In  1876,  Mr. 
Schumacher  discovered  various  quarries  of  the  old  pot-manu- 
facturers, with  their  tools  and  unfinished  articles  lying  there. 
The  softer  stone  had  been  used  for  pots,  while  the  close-grained 
darker  serpentine  was  cliiefl}'  employed  in  making  the  weights 
for  digging  sticks,  cups,  pipes,  and  ornaments.  "  I  was 
struck,"  he  says,  "  on  examining  the  locality  through  a  field- 
glass,  by  the  discovery  of  so  many  silver-hued  mounds,  tlie 
debris  of  pits,  the  rock  quarries  and  open-air  workshops,  so 
that  I  believed  I  had  found  the  main  factory  of  the  ollas 
of  the  California  aborigines."  ^  He  also  discovered  the  slate 
quarry,  where  the  rock  had  been  broken  off  in  irregular 
blocks,  from  which  pieces  best  adapted  for  chisels  were  selected 
and  fashioned  into  the  forms  specially  useful  in  making  the 
steatite  pots.  A  venerable  Spanish  lady  told  Mr.  Schumacher 
that  she  recollected  her  mother  telling  her  how  the  Indiaus 

^  lieport  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  ii.  262. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      113 

had  brought  olios  in  canoe -loads  from  the  islands  in  Santa 
Barbara  Channel  to  the  mainland,  and  there  exchanged  them 
for  such  necessities  as  the  islanders  were  in  need  of.  This 
tradition  was  subsequently  confirmed  by  an  old  Mexican 
guide.  Similar  evidence  of  systematic  industry  with  the 
accompanying  trade,  or  barter,  meets  the  explorer  at  many 
points  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  northward  to  beyond  the 
Canadian  lakes.  The  pyrulse  from  tha  Mexican  Gulf  are  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  northern  ossuariefi  and  grave  mounds, 
whi^"  corresponding  southern  sepulchral  deposits  disclose  the 
catlinite  of  the  Couteau  des  Prairies  and  the  native  copper  of 
the  Lake  Superior  mines.  Obsidian  is  another  prized  material 
only  to  be  found  in  situ  in  volcanic  regions,  but  met  with  in 
manufactured  forms  in  many  diverse  regions,  remote  from  the 
obsidian  quarries. 

The  routes  of  ancient  traffic,  determined  '"u  part  by  the 
geographical  contour  of  the  regions  through  which  they  pass, 
are  familiar  to  the  historical  students  in  the  Old  World.  The 
ancient  lines  traversed  by  the  traders  between  the  Persian 
Gulf  and  the  Levant ;  the  routes  of  caravans  by  way  of  the 
oases,  across  the  centre  of  the  Arabian  peninsula  to  the  Eed 
Sea ;  the  lines  of  access  by  road  and  river  from  the  Baltic  to 
the  Danube ;  and  from  the  British  Isles  and  the  North  Sea, 
by  the  valley  of  the  Khone,  to  the  Mediterranean  :  are  all  indi- 
cated by  a  variety  of  evidence.  The  geography  of  Central 
Africa  appears  to  have  been  familiar  to  the  Arabian  traders 
from  remote  ages.  Similar  well-trodden  routes,  and  traverses 
by  lake  and  river,  are  well  known  to  the  investigators  of 
American  antiquity.  The  great  trail  across  Pennsylvania  to 
the  Mississippi ;  the  route  b;  the  great  lakes  and  by  portage 
to  the  Hudson  valley,  and  so  to  the  Atlantic ;  from  Lake 
Ontario,  by  the  Humber  and  Lake  Simcoe,  to  the  Georgian 
Bay ;  from  Lake  Superior,  by  the  Mitchipicotten  river,  to  the 
Hudson  Bay ;  and  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico :  are  all  demonstrated  by  abundant  traces  of 
the  interchange  of  the  products  of  widely  severed  regions,  as 
disclosed  in  ancient  burial  mounds,  and  deposits  assignable  to 
remote  periods  and  to  long-extinct  races.  "West  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains  the  trails  from  the  Pacific  coast  to  the  interior, 
and  through  the  passes  of  that  lofty  range,  have  been  recovered. 


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114      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

Owing  to  the  bold  contours  of  the  region,  in  the  abrupt 
descent  from  the  western  slope  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  to 
the  Pacific,  the  routes  of  travel  are  more  strictly  defined  by 
the  physical  geography  of  the  country  than  in  the  long 
stretches  of  the  continent  to  the  east  of  that  mountain  range. 
An  interchange  of  commodities  between  the  tribes  of  the 
coast  and  the  interior  appears  to  have  been  carried  on  from 
remote  times.  Dr.  Dawson's  own  personal  observations  in 
British  Columbia  have  satisfied  him  that  trading  intercourse 
was  prosecuted  by  the  coast  tribes  with  those  of  the  interior, 
along  the  Fraser  River  Valley ;  Bella  Coola  Valley,  from  head 
of  Benetinck  Arm ;  Skeena  Eiver ;  Stiking  River ;  and  Chil- 
koot  Pass,  from  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal.  By  the  second  of 
the  above  routes  oolacten  oil  was  carried  far  into  the  interior ; 
and  the  old  trail  leading  from  Bella  Coola  and  Fraser  river  is 
chiefly  associated  by  the  inland  Indians  with  this  traffic.  The 
habitual  traffic  engendered  by  the  local  advantages  of  some 
of  the  tribes  on  the  northern  Pacific  coast  has  manifestly 
developed  some  peculiarities  which  distinguish  them  from 
other  Indians  of  the  northern  continent.  The  Bilqula,  a 
people  inhabiting  a  limited  tract  in  the  vicinity  of  Dean  Inlet 
and  Benetinck  Arms,  by  reason  of  their  geographical  position 
have  held  command  of  the  most  important  natural  pass  and 
trade  route  from  the  ocean  to  the  interior  between  the 
Skeena  and  the  Fraser  rivers,  a  distance  of  upwards  of  400 
miles.  From  remotest  times  embraced  in  the  native  traditions 
a  route  has  been  traversed  by  way  of  the  Bella  Coola  river, 
thence  northward  to  the  Salmon  river,  and  then  alonj'  the 
north  side  of  the  Blackwater  river  to  the  Upper  Fraser. 
Dentalium  shells  and  other  prized  objects  of  barter  were 
carried  ovc  this  route ;  but  the  article  of  chief  value  brought 
from  the  coast  was  the  oil  of  the  Oolacten  or  Candle  Fish ; 
and  hence  this  thoroughfare  is  commonly  known  among  the 
Tinn^  of  the  interior  as  the  "  Grease  Trail." 

Along  this  and  other  long -frequented  trails  the  broken 
implements,  flint  and  obsidian  chips,  and  other  traces  of  the 
natives  by  whom  they  have  been  traversed,  not  only  afford 
proof  of  their  presence  there,  but  at  times  disclose  indications 
of  the  regions  they  have  visited  in  going  to  or  returning  from 
the  interior.      Dr.   G.   M.   Dawson    informs  me  that,  while 


1'^ 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      115 


travelling  along  various  Indian  trails  and  routes  in  British 
Columbia,  west  of  Fraser  river,  and  between  lats.  52"  and 
54°,  chips  and  flakes  of  obsidian  were  not  unfrequently  ob- 
served. The  Tinnd  Indians  stated  that  the  material  was 
obtained  from  a  mountain  near  thu  headwaters  of  the  Salmon 
river  (about  long.  125°  40',  lat.  52°  40'),  which  was  formerly- 
resorted  to  for  the  purpo,ie  of  procuring  this  prized  material. 
The  Indian  name  of  this  mountain  is  Bece,  and  Dr.  Dawson 
further  notes  the  suggestive  fact  that  this  word  is  the  same 
with  the  Mexican  (Aztec  ?)  name  for  "  knife."  Mr.  T.  C. 
Weston,  of  the  Geological  Survey,  also  noted,  in  1883,  the 
hnding  of  a  flake  of  obsidian  in  connection  with  a  layer 
of  buffalo-bones,  occurring  in  alluvium,  and  evidently  of  con- 
siderable antiquity,  near  Fort  M'Leod,  Alberta.  The  nearest 
source  of  such  a  material  is  the  Yellowstone  Park  region. 
Those  regions,  it  is  obvious,  were  visited  by  native  explorers, 
not  merely  to  supply  their  own  wants,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  coveted  objects  available  for  trade  or  barter.  Dr. 
Dawson  reports  to  me  as  the  result  of  observations  founded 
on  repeated  visits  to  the  region,  in  the  work  of  the  Geological 
Survey :  That  all  the  coast  tribes  of  British  Columbia  are  born 
traders,  and  possess  in  a  high  degree  the  mental  characteristics 
generally  attributed  to  the  Jews.  Those  holding  possession  of 
the  above  routes  regarded  trade  with  the  neighbouring  inland 
tribes  as  a  valuable  monopoly,  and  were  ready  to  fight  for  it. 
They  also  traded  among  themselves,  and  certain  localities  were 
well  known  as  the  source  of  commodities.  Thus  the  Haida 
Indians  regularly  purchased  oolacten  oil  from  the  Tshimsians, 
who  caught  the  oolacten  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nass  and  Stiking 
rivers,  giving  in  exchange  cedar  canoes,  for  the  manufacture  of 
which  they  were  celebrated.  Through  the  agency  of  the 
Tshimsians  they  also  procured  from  the  inland  Indians  the 
large  mountain  sheep  horns,  from  which  they  executed  elabor- 
ately carved  spoons  and  other  implements.  Cumshewa,  in 
Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  was,  again,  noted  for  Indian  tobacco, 
an  undetermined  native  plant,  which  was  an  article  of  trade 
all  along  the  coast. 

Copper  was  not  unknown  to  the  native  tribes  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  rich  supplies  of  the  native  metal  appear  to 
have  been  partially  worked,  by  the  tribes  along  the  shores  of 


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ii6      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

Lake  Superior  from  a  remote  date.  The  ancient  mines  have 
been  disclosed,  in  the  process  of  turning  their  resources  to 
account  by  the  enterprise  of  civilised  settlers ;  and  abundant 
evidence  has  been  recovered  to  show  that  the  native  copper  of 
the  Keweenaw  peninsula,  Ontonagon,  Isle  Royale,  and  other 
points  on  Lake  Superior,  was  worked  extensively  by  its  ancient 
miners,  and  undoubtedly  formed  a  valuable  object  of  traffic 
throughout  the  region  watered  by  the  MissiL3ippi  and  its 
tributaries,  and  along  the  whole  eastern  routes  to  the  seaboard. 
But,  with  the  imperfect  resources  of  the  native  miners,  it  was 
a  costly  rarity,  procurable  only  in  small  quantities  by  barter 
with  the  tribes  settled  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  Axe 
blades,  spear  heads,  knives,  gorgets,  armlets,  tubes  and  beads, 
all  fashioned  out  of  the  native  copper  solely  with  the  hammer, 
have  been  recovered  from  ancient  grave  mounds  and  ossuaries 
in  the  valleys  of  the  St  Lawrence,  the  Hudson,  the  Ohio,  the 
Mississippi,  and  their  tributaries;  and  to  the  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  copper  implements  again  occur  manufac- 
tured from  metal  derived  from  some  native  source  on  the 
Pacific  slope.  The  copper  was,  no  doubt,  recognised  as  a 
malleable  'ock,  differing  from  all  others  in  its  ductility,  so  that 
it  could  be  fashioned,  with  the  aid  of  a  hammer-stone,  to  any 
desired  form.  By  this  means  the  ancient  miners  of  Lake 
Superior  provided  themselves  with  the  mst  suitable  tools  for 
their  mining  operations,  and  were  probably  the  manufacturers 
of  most  of  the  widely  difiused  copper  implements.  But  for 
general  purposes,  both  of  industry  and  war,  American  man  had 
to  be  content  with  the  more  abundant  chert,  hornstone,  and 
quartzite. 

The  source  from  whence  ';he  tribes  on  the  Pacific  obtained 
the  coveted  metal  has  not  yet  been  ascertained  ;  but  it  was 
obviously  procured  only  in  small  quantities,  insufficient  to  be 
turned  to  account  for  economic  uses.  Among  a  curious  collec- 
tion of  objects  illustrative  of  the  arts  of  the  Haida  Indians, 
now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Geological  Survey  at  Ottawa,  is  a 
large  copper  ring,  or  torque,  which  appears  to  have  been 
handed  down  for  successive  generations,  from  chief  to  chief,  as 
a  prized  heirloom ;  and,  it  may  be  assumed,  as  a  symbol  of 
official  rank.  The  ring,  or  necklet,  is  composed  of  three 
twisted  bars,  or  strands  of  hammered  copper,  each  tapering  at 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      117 


both  ends,  and  is  fashioned  with  remarkable  skill,  if  due 
allowance  be  made  for  the  imperfect  tools  of  the  native  arti- 
ficer. This  unique  relic  seems  to  show  the  accumulated 
metallic  wealth  of  the  tribe  fashioned  into  a  symbol  of  official 
rank ;  not  improbably  with  mysterious  virtues  ascribed  to  it, 
which  passed  with  it  to  its  official  custodian.  A  block  of 
native  copper  now  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington  is 
described  by  the  Pere  Charlevoix  as  a  sacred  object  of  venera- 
tion by  the  Indians  of  Lake  Superior,  on  which  a  young 
maiden  had  been  offered  in  sacrifice.^  But  it  is  beyond  ques- 
tion that  throughout  the  region  north  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  the 
native  manufacturer  resorted  mainly  to  the  abundant  horn- 
stone,  chert,  quartzite,  and  the  like  materials  of  the  Stone 
period.  These  were  in  universal  demand,  and  must  have  been 
industriously  collected  in  the  localities  where  they  abound, 
and  disposed  of  by  a  regular  system  of  exchange  for  furs,  wam- 
pum, or  other  objects  of  barter.  Mr  W.  H.  Dall,  in  his  report 
on  The  Tribes  of  the  Extreme  North-  West,  notes  the  absence 
in  the  Aleutian  Islands  of  any  stone,  such  as  serpentine,  fit  for 
making  the  celts  or  ad::es,  recovered  by  him  from  the  shell 
mounds.  "  They  were,"  he  says,  "  probably  imported  from  the 
continental  Innuit  at  great  cost,  and  very  highly  valued  "  ;  and 
on  a  subsequent  page  he  adds :  "  The  intertribal  traffic  I  have 
referred  to  is  universal  among  the  Innuit."  ^ 

The  occurrence  of  well-stored  caches  in  some  of  the  ancient 
mounds  of  the  Ohio  valley,  as  well  as  their  repeated  discovery 
in  other  localities,  accords  with  the  idea  of  systematised  indus- 
trial labour,  and  the  storing  away  of  the  needful  supplies  for 
agricultural  and  domestic  operations,  and  for  war.  Messrs. 
Squier  and  Davis,  in  their  Ancient  Monuments  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  describe  one  of  the  mounds  opened  by 
them  within  the  great  earthwork  on  the  North  Fork  of  Point 
Creek,  in  which,  according  to  their  estimate,  about  four  thou- 
sand homstone  disks  were  disposed  in  regular  order,  in  succes- 
sive rows  overlapping  each  other.  In  1864,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  examining  some  specimens  retained  in  the 
possession  of  Dr.  Davis.  They  were  mostly  disks  measuring 
about  six  inches  long  and  four  wide,  more  or  less  oval,  or 

'  Prehistoric  Man,  3d  ed.  vol.  ii.  p.  223. 
»   Tribes  of  the  Extreme  North-  West,  pp.  81,  82. 


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Ii8       TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

broad  spear-shaped,  and  fashioned  out  of  a  fine  gray  flint  with 
considerable  uniformity  of  character.  Mr.  Squier  assumed  that 
the  deposit  was  a  religious  offering ;  but  subsequent  disclosures 
of  a  like  character  confirm  the  probability  that  it  was  a  hoard 
'.  aaterial  stored  for  the  tool-maker.^ 
In  other,  though  rarer  cases,  the  cache  has  been  found  con- 
taining finished  implements.  In  digging  a  cellar  at  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  a  deposit  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  finished 
stone  axes  was  brought  to  light,  at  a  depth  of  about  three  feet 
below  the  surface.  Another  discovery  of  a  like  character  was 
made  when  digging  for  the  construction  of  a  receiving  vault  of 
the  Eiverview  Cemetery,  near  Taunton ;  and  similar  deposits 
are  recorded  as  repeatedly  occurring  in  the  same  state.^  In 
two  instances  all  the  specimens  were  grooved  axes.  In 
another,  fifty  porphyry  celts  were  fou..d  deposited  in  syste- 
matic order.  Mr.  Charles  Eau  has  given  the  subject  special 
attention,  and  in  a  paper  entitled  "Ancient  Aboriginal  Trade 
in  North  America,"  he  furnishes  evidence  of  addiction  to 
certain  manufactures,  such  as  arrow  heads,  hoes  and  other 
digging  tools,  spear  heads,  chisels,  etc.,  by  skilled  native  crafts- 
men.^ Deposits  closely  corresponding  to  the  one  reported  by 
Mr.  Squier  as  the  sole  contents  of  one  of  the  mounds,  in 
"  Clark's  Work,"  Ohio,  have  been  subsequently  discovered  in 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  Kentucky.  One  of  the  Illinois 
deposits  contained  about  fifteen  hundred  leaf-shaped  or 
rounded  disks  of  flint  arranged  in  five  horizontal  layers. 
Another,  said  to  have  contained  three  thousand  five  hundred 
specimens,  was  discovered  at  Fredericksburg,  in  the  same 
state.  A  smaller,  but  more  interesting  hoard  was  accident- 
ally brought  to  light  in  1868,  when  some  labourers  in  opening 
up  a  new  street,  at  East  St.  Louis,  in  the  same  State  of 
Illinois,  came  upon  a  collection  of  large  flint  tools  all  of  the 
hoe  and  shovel  type.  There  were  about  fifty  of  the  former 
and  twenty  of  the  latter,  made  of  a  yellowish-brown  flint,  and 
betraying  no  traces  of  their  having  been  used.  Near  by  them 
lay  several  large  unworked  blocks  of  flint  and  green-stone,  and 
many  cbippings  and  fragments  of  flint.*     Deposits  of  a  like 

^  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  158. 
"  Abbott's  Primitive  Indtistry,  p.  33.  '  Smithsonian  Report,  1872. 

« Ibid.  1868,  p.  402. 


TPADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      119 


character,  but  varying  both  in  the  number  and  diveraity  of 
their  contents,  and,  in  general,  showing  no  traces  of  use,  have 
been  discovered  in  other  states  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi. 
In  the  Smitlisonian  Report  for  1877,  Mr  Rau  prints  a  curious 
account  of  "  The  Stock  in  Trade  of  an  Aboriginal  Lapidary." 
In  the  spring  of  the  pre\'ious  year  Mr.  Keenan  presented  to 
the  National  Museum  at  Washington  a  collection  of  jasper 
ornaments,  mostly  unfinished,  which  had  been  found  in 
Lawrence  County,  Mississippi.  They  were  brought  to  light  in 
ploughing  a  cotton  field,  where  a  deposit  was  exposed,  lying 
about  two  and  a  half  feet  below  the  natural  surface.  It  in- 
cluded four  hundred  and  sixty-nine  objects,  of  which  twenty- 
two  were  unwrought  jasper  pebbles ;  one  hundred  and  one 
were  beads  of  an  elongated  cylindrical  shape,  and  a  few  of 
them  partially  perforated.  Others  were  ornaments  of  various 
forms,  including  two  animal-shaped  objects.  The  whole  were 
made  of  jasper  of  a  red  or  reddish  colour,  occasionally  variegated 
with  spots  or  streaks  of  pale  yellow ,  but  nearly  all  were  in  an 
unfinished  state,  and  so  fully  bore  out  the  idea  of  their  being  the 
stock  in  trade  of  some  old  native  workman,  who  finished  them 
in  sufficient  numbers  to  meet  the  demands  of  his  customers.^ 

From  time  to  time  fresh  disclosures  prove  the  extent  to 
which  such  systematic  industry  was  carried  on.  The  various 
collections  thus  brought  to  light  were  unquestionably  the 
result  of  prolonged  labour,  and  were,  for  the  most  part, 
undoubtedly  stored  for  purposes  of  trade.  In  some  cases  they 
may  have  been  accumulated  in  the  arsenal  of  the  tribe  in 
readiness  for  war.  But  whether  we  recognise  in  such  dis- 
coveries the  store  of  the  trader,  or  the  military  arsenal,  they 
indicate  ideas  of  provident  foresight  altogether  distinct  from 
the  desultory  labours  of  the  Indian  savage  in  the  preparation 
of  his  own  indispensable  supply  of  implements  for  the  chase  or 
for  war. 

But  there  were  also,  no  doubt,  home-made  weapons  and 
implements,  fashioned  with  patient  industry  out  of  the  large 
rolled  serpentine,  chalcedony,  jasper,  and  agate  pebbles,  gathered 
from  the  sea  coast  and  river  beds,  or  picked  up  wherever  they 
chanced  to  occur.  When  camping  out  on  the  Neepigon  river, 
with  Indian  guides  from  the  Saskatchewan,  I  observed  them 

'  Smithsonian  Report,  1877,  p.  293. 


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120       TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

carefully  collectiug  pieces  of  a  metamorphic  rock,  underlying 
the  syenite  cliffs,  which,  I  learned  from  one  of  them,  was 
specially  adapted  for  pipes.  This  they  would  carry  a  distance 
of  fully  800  miles  before  reaching  their  lodges  on  the 
prairie.  Dr.  Eobert  Bell  described  to  me  a  pipe  made  of  fine 
green  serpentine,  of  a  favourite  Chippewayan  pattern,  which  he 
saw  in  the  possession  of  an  Indian  on  Nelson  river.  Its 
owner  resisted  all  attempts  to  induce  him  to  part  with  it, 
assigning  as  a  reason  of  its  special  value  that  it  had  been 
brought  from  Eeindeer  Lake  distant  several  hundred  miles 
north  of  Frog  Portage,  on  Churchill  river.  The  diverse  forms 
in  which  various  tribes  shape  the  tobacco  pipy  are  highly 
characteristic.  In  some  cases  this  is  partly  due  to  the  texture 
and  degrees  of  hardness  of  the  material  employed ;  but  the 
recovery  of  pipes  of  nearly  all  the  very  diverse  tribal  patterns, 
made  from  the  beautiful  catliiiite,  or  red  pipestone  of  the 
Couteau  des  Prairies,  leaves  little  room  for  doubt  that  the 
ston3  was  transported  in  rough  blocks  and  bartered  by  its 
quairiers  to  distant  tribes.  This  flesh-coloured  rock  has 
suggested  the  Sioux  legend  of  its  origin  in  the  flesh  of  the 
antediluvian  red  men,  who  perished  there  in  the  great  deluge. 
It  is  soft,  of  fine  texture,  and  easily  wrought  into  minutely 
varied  forms  of  Indian  art,  and  so  was  coveted  by  the  pipe- 
makers  of  widely  severed  tribes.  Hence  red  pipestone  pipes 
of  many  ingenious  forms  of  sculpture  have  been  recovered  from 
grave  mounds  down  the  Mississippi,  eastward  to  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  and  westward  beyond  the  Eocky  Mountains.  This 
prized  material  appears  to  have  circulated  among  all  the  Plain 
tribes.  Pipes  made  of  it  were  to  be  found  in  recent  years 
preserved  as  cherished  possessions  among  both  the  Sioux  and 
the  Blackfool,  tribes.  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson  found  in  1874 
part  of  an  ancient  catlinite  pipe  on  Pyramid  Creek,  about  lat. 
49°,  long.  105°. 

A  very  different  material  was  in  use  among  the  Assiniboin 
Indians,  limiting  the  art  of  the  pipe  sculptor  to  the  simplest 
forms.  It  is  a  fine  marble,  much  too  hard  to  admit  of  minute 
carving,  but  susceptible  of  a  high  polish.  This  is  cut  into 
pipes  of  graceful  form,  and  made  so  extremely  thin  as  to  be 
nearly  transparent,  so  that  when  lighted  the  glowing  tobacco 
presents  a  singular  appearance  in  a  dark  lodge.      Another 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      121 


favourite  stone  is  a  coarse  species  of  jasper,  also  too  hard  for 
any  elaborate  ornamentation.  But  tlie  choice  of  materials  is 
by  no  means  limited  to  those  of  the  locality  of  the  tribe.  I 
have  already  referred  to  my  Indian  guides  carrying  away  with 
theni  pieces  of  the  pipe-stone  rock  on  Neepigon  river ;  and 
Paul  Kane,  the  artist,  during  his  travels,  when  on  Athabaska 
river,  near  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  observed  his 
Assiniboin  guides  select  a  favourite  bluish  jasper  from  among 
the  water-worn  stones  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  to  carry  home 
for  the  purpose  of  pipe  manufacture,  although  they  were  then 
fully  500  miles  from  their  lodges. 

The  favourite  material  of  the  Chippewas  was  a  dark,  close- 
grained  schist  obtained  at  some  points  on  Lake  Huron.  It  is 
easily  carved,  and  many  of  their  pipes  are  decorated  with 
groups  of  human  figures  and  animals,  executed  wilh  much 
spirit.  Pabahmesad,  an  old  Chippewa  pipe-maker  of  unusual 
skill,  pursued  his  craft  on  Great  ManitouUn  Island,  on  Lake 
Huron,  in  comparatively  recent  years.  The  pecviliar  style  of 
his  ingenious  carvings  may  be  detected  on  pipes  recovered 
from  widely  scattered  localities,  for  his  fame  as  a  pipe  sculptor 
was  great.  He  was  generally  known  among  his  people  as 
Pwahguneka,  the  pipe-maker.  He  obtained  his  materials  from 
the  favourite  resorts  of  different  tribes,  using  the  black  pipe- 
stone  of  Lake  Huron,  the  white  pipestone  procured  on  St. 
Joseph's  Island,  and  the  catlinite  or  red  pipestone  of  the 
Couteau  des  Prairies.  But  the  most  varied  and  elaborate  in 
device  of  all  the  peculiar  native  types  of  pipe  sculpture  are 
those  executed  by  the  Chimpseyan  or  Babeen  and  the  Clalam 
Indians,  of  Vancouver  Island  and  the  neighbouring  shores 
along  Charlotte  Sound.  They  are  carved  out  of  a  soft  blue 
claystone  or  slate,  from  which  also  bowls,  platters,  and  other 
utensils  are  made,  decorated  with  native  legendary  symbols 
and  other  devices.  But  the  most  elaborate  carving  is  reserved 
for  their  pipes,  which  are  not  less  varied  and  fanciful  in  design 
than  the  details  of  Norman  ecclesiastical  sculpture.  The  same 
easily  carved  claystone  was  in  great  request  among  the  Haida 
Indians  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  for  their  idols,  and  for 
ornamental  gorgets  and  utensils  of  various  kinds.  Thus  the 
available  materials  of  different  localities  are  seen  to  modify  the 
forms  alike  of  implements,  weapons,  and  articles  designed  for 


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12a      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  TFL  STONE  AGE 

personal  ornament  or  domestic  use,  and  were  ?ought  for  and 
transported  to  many  distant  points,  with  the  same  object  as 
the  tin  and  copper  which  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
commercial  exchanges  of  nations  at  the  dawn  of  history. 

In  regions  where  flint  01  hornstone  is  not  available,  the 
quartzite  appears  to  have  been  most  commonly  resorted  to.  I 
have  in  my  possession  some  spear  heads  measuring  from  seven 
to  nine  inches  long,  which  weio  dug  up  on  an  old  Indian  trail 
at  Point  Oken,  lying  to  the  north  of  Lake  St.  John,  Quebec ; 
and  implements  of  the  like  material  are  common  throughout 
eastern  Canada.  The  same  widely  diffused  material  was  no 
less  freely  resorted  to  by  the  tribes  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The 
arrow  heads  found  throughout  the  Salish  country  of  southern 
British  Columbia  are  chiefly  formed  of  quartzite,  though  chert 
is  also  used.  The  quartzite  occurs  in  so  many  localities  that 
it  is  difficult  to  trace  its  special  source.  But  near  the  east  end 
of  Marble  Canon,  and  at  the  Big  Rock  Slide,  about  six  miles 
above  Spence's  Bridge,  on  Thompson  river,  chips  occur  in 
considerable  quantities,  suggestive  of  one  of  the  chosen  locali- 
ties resorted  to  for  quarrying  and  manufacture. 

The  old  arrow-makers  evidently  derived  pleasure  from  the 
selection  of  attractive  materials  for  some  of  their  choicest 
specimens  of  handiwork.  The  true  crystalline  quartz  was 
prized  for  small  arrow  heads,  some  of  which  are  equally 
pleasing  in  material,  form,  and  delicacy  of  finish.  But  the 
material  most  usually  employed  in  eastern  Canada,  as  well  as 
that  previously  referred  to  as  in  request  by  the  old  workers 
of  the  Ohio  valley  for  their  largest  implements,  is  a  gneissoid 
rock  of  comparatively  common  occurrence,  which  chips  off 
with  a  broad  facet  hen  sharply  struck,  and  leaves  an  acute 
edge  and  point.  Mr.  Seller's  valuable  paper  on  the  ancient 
workshops  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  also  contains  an  account 
of  his  own  experience  relative  to  the  flaking  and  chipping  of 
flint  implements.^  In  this  communication  he  remarks :  "  Most 
of  the  arrow  points  found  within  my  reach  in  Philadelphia, 
Delaware,  and  Chester  Counties,  Pennsylvania,  were  chipped 
from  massive  quartz,  from  the  opaque  white  to  semi-transparent, 
and  occasionally  transparent."  He  further  describes  his  first 
chance  discovery  of  one  of  the  native  work-places.  He  was  in 
*  Smithsonian  Report,  1885,  Part  I.  p.  873. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      133 


company  with  two  sciontific  iniiieralogists,  when,  as  he  writes, 
"we  came  to  a  pUice  where  (judging  from  the  quantities  of 
flakes  and  cliips)  anow  points  had  been  made.  After  much 
diligent  search,  only  one  perfect  point  was  found.  There 
were  many  broken  ones,  showing  the  dilticulty  in  working  the 
material.  Mr.  Lukins,  a  scientific  mineralogist,  collected  a 
quantity  of  the  best  flakes  to  experiment  with,  and,  by  the 
strokes  of  a  light  hammer,  roughed  out  one  or  two  very  rude 
imitations."  Major  J.  H.  Long  traversed  the  continent  west- 
ward to  the  Kooky  Mountains,  as  head  of  the  United  States 
Military  Topographical  Department ;  and  from  him  Mr.  Sellers 
derived  information  of  the  habits  of  the  rude  western  tribes 
long  before  they  had  been  brought  into  direct  contact  with 
any  civilised  settlers.  "  He  said  that  flakes  prepared  for 
points  and  other  implements  seemed  to  be  an  object  of  trade 
or  commerce  among  the  Indian  tribes  that  he  came  in  contact 
with ;  that  there  were  but  few  places  where  chert  or  quartzite 
was  found  of  sufficient  hardness,  and  close  and  even  grain,  to 
flake  well,  and  at  those  places  there  were  men  very  expert  at 
flaking."  ^ 

Mr.  Sellers  had  known  Catlin,  the  artist  and  traveller,  in 
his  youth,  while  he  was  still  an  expert  worker  in  wood  and 
ivory  in  the  service  of  the  elder  Catlin,  a  musical  instrument 
maker  in  Philadelphia  ;  and  from  him  he  learned  much  relative 
to  the  modes  of  operation  and  the  sources  of  material  of  the 
Indian  workers  in  stone.  "  He  considered  making  flakes  much 
more  of  an  art  than  the  shaping  them  into  arrow  or  spear 
points,  for  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  stone 
to  be  flaked  was  essential,  as  a  slight  difference  in  its  quality 
necessitated  a  totallv  different  mode  of  treatment.  The 
principal  source  of  supply  for  what  he  termed  home-made 
flakes  was  the  coarse  gravel  bars  of  the  rivers,  where  large 
pebbles  are  found.  Those  most  easily  worked  into  flakes  for 
small  arrow  points  were  chalcedony,  jasper,  and  agate.  Most 
of  the  tribes  had  men  who  were  expert  at  flaking,  and  who 
could  decide  at  sight  the  best  mode  of  working.  Some  of 
these  pebbles  would  split  into  tolerably  good  flakes  by  quick 
and  sharp  blows,  striking  on  the  same  point.  Others  would 
break  by  a  cross  fracture  into  two  or  more  pieces.  These 
1  Smitfisonian  JReport,  1886,  Part  I.  p.  878. 


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124      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

were  preferred,  as  good  flakes  could  be  split  from  their  clean 
fractured  surface,  by  what  Mr.  Catlin  called  'impulsive 
pressure,'  the  tool  used  being  a  shaft  or  stick  of  between  two 
and  three  inches  in  diameter,  varying  in  length  from  thirty 
inches  to  four  feet,  according  to  the  manner  of  using  them. 
These  were  pointed  with  bone  or  buckhorn."  It  is  thus 
apparert  that  among  rude  tribes  of  modern  centuries,  as  in 
the  prehistoric  dawn,  exceptional  aptitude  and  skill  found 
recognition  as  readily  as  in  any  civilised  community.  There 
were  the  quarriers  and  the  skilled  workmen,  on  whose  joint 
labours  the  whole  community  larj-ely  depended  for  the  in- 
dispensable supply  of  all  needful  tools. 

In  the  summer  of  1854,  when  civilisation  had  made  very 
slight  inroads  on  the  western  wilderness,  I  visited  a  group  of 
Chippewa  lodges  on  the  south-west  shore  of  Lake  Superior, 
where  they  still  maintained  many  of  their  genuine  habits. 
Their  aged  chief,  Buffalo,  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  uncor- 
rupted  savage,  dressed  ir  native  attire,  and  wearing  the  collar 
of  grizzly  bear's  claws  as  proof  of  his  triumph  over  the 
fiercest  object  of  the  chase.  Their  weapons  were  partly  of 
iron,  derived  from  the  traders.  But  they  had  also  their  stone- 
tipped  arrows ;  and  one  Indian  was  an  object  of  interest  to 
a  group  of  Indian  boys  as  he  busied  himself  in  fashioning 
a  water-worn  pebble  into  an  edged  tool.  He  held  an  oval 
pebble  betweeu  the  finger  and  thumb,  and  used  it  with  quick 
strokes  as  a  hammer.  But  he  was  only  engaged  on  the  first 
rough  process,  and  I  did  not  see  the  completion  of  his  work. 
No  doubt,  the  leisure  of  all  was  turned  more  or  less  to  account 
in  supplying  themselves  with  their  ordinary  weapons  and 
missiles.  But  Catlin's  free  intercourse  with  the  wild  western 
tribes  familiarised  him  with  the  regular  sources  of  general 
supply.  "The  best  flakes,"  he  said,  "outside  of  the  home- 
made, were  a  subject  of  commerce,  and  came  from  certain 
localities  where  the  chert  of  the  best  quality  was  quarried  iu 
sheets  or  blocks,  as  it  occurs  in  almost  continuous  seams  in 
the  intercalated  limestones  of  the  coal  measures.  These  sea  s 
are  mostly  cracked  or  broken  into  blocks  that  show  the  nature 
of  the  cross  fracture,  which  is  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
operators,  who  seemed  to  have  reduced  the  art  of  flaking  to 
almost  an  absolute  science,  with  division  of  labour;   one  set 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      125 

of  men  being  expert  in  quarrying  and  selecting  the  stone, 
others  in  preparing  the  blocks  for  the  flakers."  ^  But  suitable 
and  specially  prized  material  were  sometimes  sought  on  different 
sites,  ana  disseminated  from  them  by  the  primitive  trader. 
Along  eastern  Labrador  and  in  Newfoundland  arrow  heads 
are  mostl;"  fashioned  out  of  a  peculiar  light-gray  translucent 
quartzite.  Dr.  Bell  informs  me  that  near  Chimo,  south  of 
ijngava  Bay,  is  a  spot  resorted  to  by  the  Indians  from  time  im- 
memorial for  this  favourite  material  j  and  arrows  made  of  it  are 
not  uncommon  even  in  Nova  Scotia.  Among  the  tribes  remote 
from  the  sea  coast,  where  no  exposed  rock  furnished  available 
material  for  the  manufacture  of  their  stone  implements,  the 
chief  source  of  supply  was  the  larger  pebbles  of  the  river  beds. 
From  these  the  most  suitable  stones  were  carefully  selected, 
and  often  carried  great  distances.  Those  most  easily  worked 
into  flakes  for  small  arrow  heads  are  chalcedony,  jasper,  agate, 
and  quartz;  and  the  finer  specimens  of  such  weapons  are  now 
greatly  prized  by  collectors.  The  coast  tribes  both  of  the 
Atlantic  and  the  PacifJo  found  similar  sources  of  supply  of  the 
stones  best  suited  for  their  implements  in  the  rolled  gravel  of 
the  beach,  and  this  appears  to  have  been  the  most  frequent 
resort  of  the  Micmacs  and  ether  tribes  of  the  Canadian 
Maritime  Provinces. 

I  have  already  referred  to  information  derived  fr^m  Dr.  G. 
M.  Dawson  and  Dr.  Eobert  Bell,  to  both  of  whom  I  have  been 
ndebted  for  interesting  results  of  their  own  personal  observa- 
tions as  members  of  the  Canadian  Geological  Survey.  Collectors 
are  familiar  with  the  elongated  flat  stones,  with  two  or  more 
holes  bored  through  them,  variously  styled  gorgets,  implements 
for  fashioning  sinew  into  cord,  etc.  They  are  made  of  a 
grayish -green  clay  slate,  with  dark  streaks;  and  the  same 
material  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  personal  ornaments, 
ceremonial  objects,  and  occasionally  for  smooth  spear  heads 
and  knives.  Kelics  fashioned  of  this  peculiar  clay  slate  are 
found  throughout  Ontario,  from  Lakes  Haron  and  Erie  to  the 
Ottawa  valley.  A  somewhat  similar  stone  occurs  in  situ  at 
various  points,  but  Dr.  Bell  believes  he  has  satisfactorily 
identified  the  ancient  quarry  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Temagamic, 
nearly  100  miles  north  of  Lake  Nipissing.     No  clay  slate 

'  Smithsonian  Heport,  Part  1. 1885,  p.  874. 


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126      TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 

procured  from  any  other  locality  corresponds  so  exactly  to 
the  favourite  material.  The  site  is  accessible  by  more  than 
one  canoe  route ;  and  quantities  of  the  rock  from  different  beds 
lie  broken  up  in  blocks  of  a  size  ready  for  transportation. 
Dr.  Bell  found  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Temissaming  a  large 
unfinished  spear  head,  chipped  out  of  this  clay  slate,  and  ready 
for  grinding.  When  the  region  is  settled  and  the  land  cleared, 
sites  will  probably  be  discovered  where  the  aboriginal  exporters 
reduced  the  rough  blocks  to  forms  convenient  for  transport. 

Dr.  Bell  has  described  to  me  specimens  of  narrow  and 
somewhat  long  spear  points,  of  local  manufacture,  made  from 
smoky  chert  found  on  or  near  the  Athabaska,  in  Mackenzie  river 
basin ;  and  an  arrow  head  of  brown  flint  from  the  mouth  of 
Churchill  river,  Hudson  Bay.  The  flint  implements  of  Eainy 
river  and  Lake  of  the  Woods  are  of  brownish  flint  and  chert, 
such  as  are  found  in  the  drift  all  over  the  region  to  the  -outh- 
westward  of  Hudson  Bay ;  and  are  mostly  derived  f i?  >  ._  he 
Devonian  rocks.  Worn  pebbles  of  this  kind  occur  in  the  drift 
as  far  south  as  Lake  Superior.  A  branch  of  Kinogami  river 
is  called  by  the  Indians  Mint  river  (Pewona  sipi)  from  the 
abundance  of  the  favourite  material  they  find  in  the  river 
gravel  and  shingle.  The  finest  flint  implements  of  Canada 
are  those  of  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Huion,  made  from 
material  corresponding  to  a  very  fine  grained  quartzite, 
approximating  to  chalcedony,  found  among  the  Huronian 
rocks  of  that  region. 

Along  the  western  coast  of  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  a 
high  ridge  of  trap  rock  extends,  with  slight  interruption,  from 
Briar  Island  to  Cape  Blomidon.  Here  the  strong  tidal  rush 
of  the  sea  undermines  the  cliff,  and  the  winter  frosts  split  it 
up,  so  that  every  year  the  shore  is  strewn  with  broken  frag- 
ments from  the  clifif,  exposing  a  variety  of  crystalline  minerals, 
such  as  jasper,  agate,  etc.  The  beach  gravel  is  also  inter- 
spersed with  numerous  rounded  pebbles  derived  originally 
from  the  same  source.  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  George  Patterson, 
of  New  Glasgow,  N.S.,  for  some  interesting  notes  on  this  subject. 
The  pebbles  of  this  beach  seem  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  supply  for  the  Indian  implement-makers  of  Nova 
Scotia.  Few  localities  have  hitherto  been  noticed  in  the 
Maritime  Provinces  marked  by  any  such  large  accumulation 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      127 


m 


of  chips  as  would  suggest  the  probability  of  manufacture  for 
the  purpose  of  trade ;  though  chips  and  finished  implements 
occasionally  occur  together  on  the  sites  of  Indian  villages  or 
encampments,  suggestive  of  individual  industry  and  home 
manufacture.  But  Mr.  Patterson  informs  me  that  one 
place  at  Bauchman's  Beach,  in  the  county  of  Lunenburg, 
furnishes  abundant  traces  of  an  old  native  workshop.  There, 
until  recently,  could  be  gathered  agate,  jasper,  and  other 
varieties  of  the  fine-grained  crystalline  minerals  from  the 
trap,  sometimes  in  nodules,  rounded  and  worn,  as  they  occur 
at  the  base  of  the  ocean-washed  cliffs.  At  times  they  showed 
partial  traces  of  working ;  but  more  frequently  they  were  split 
and  broken,  bearing  the  unmistakable  marks  of  the  hammer. 
Along  with  those  were  cores  and  large  quantities  of  flakes,  or 
chips,  with  arrow  heads,  more  or  less  perfectly  formed.  At 
one  time  they  might  have  been  gathered  in  large  quantities ; 
but  recent  inroads  of  the  sea  have  swept  away  much  of  the 
old  beach,  and  strewed  the  products  of  the  Indian  stone-workers 
where  they  may  be  stored  for  the  wonder  of  men  of  other 
centuries.  It  is  curious,  indeed,  to  reflect  on  the  memorials 
of  ages  so  diverse  from  those  with  which  the  palaeontologist 
deals,  that  are  now  accumulating  in  the  submarine  strata  in 
process  of  formation,  for  the  instruction  of  coming  generations, 
should  our  earth  last  so  long.  The  world  will,  doubtless,  have 
grown  wiser  before  that  epoch  is  reached.  But  it  will  require 
some  discrimination,  even  in  so  enlightened  an  age,  to  read 
aright  the  significance  of  this  mingling  of  relics  of  rudest 
barbarism  with  all  the  products  of  modern  civilisation  that  are 
being  strewn  along  the  great  ocean  highways  between  the 
Old  and  the  New  World. 

A  curious  illustration  of  the  possible  confusion  of  evidence 
is  shown  by  the  discovery  in  1884  of  a  large  stone  lance 
head  of  the  Eskimo  type,  deeply  imbedded  in  the  tissues  of  a 
whale  taken  at  the  whaling  station  on  Ballast  Point,  near  the 
harbour  of  San  Diego,  California.^  In  the  Museum  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh  is  the  skeleton  of  a  whale,  stranded 
in  the  ancient  estuary  of  the  Forth  in  a  prehistoric  age,  when 
the  ocean  tides  reached  the  site  which  had  been  elevated  into 
dry  land  long  ages  before  the  Eoman  invaders  of  Caledonia 

*  Science,  iii.  342. 


128       TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE 


\^- 


•i^ 


IP 


made  their  way  over  it.  Alongside  of  the  buried  whale  lay 
a  rude  deerhorn  implement  of  the  old  Caledonian  whaler ;  and 
had  the  San  Diego  whale  simk  in  deep  waters  off  the  Pacific 
coast,  it  would  have  perpetuated  a  similar  memorial  of  rudest 
savage  life,  in  close  proximity,  doubtless,  to  evidences  of  modern 
civilisation.  Such,  though  in  less  striking  form,  is  the  process 
of  intermingling  the  arts  of  the  American  Stone  age  with 
products  of  modern  skill  and  refinement,  that  is  now  in  progress 
off  the  Lunenburg  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  inroads  of  the 
sea  have  not,  however,  even  now  effaced  all  traces  of  the  old 
arrow -makers  of  Bauchman's  Beach.  Specimens  of  their 
handiwork  may  still  be  gathered  along  the  shore.  To  this 
locality  it  is  obvious  that  the  inland  tribes  resorted  from 
remote  Indian  villages  for  some  of  their  most  indispensable 
supplies.  Implements  of  the  same  materials  also  occur  at 
sites  on  the  northern  coast ;  but  the  larger  number  found  there 
are  made  of  quartzite,  felsite,  or  of  hard,  slaty  stone,  such  as 
occurs  in  the  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  mountain  ranges  in 
the  interior  of  the  Province. 

From  what  has  thus  been  set  forth,  some  general  inferences 
of  a  comprehensive  character  are  suggested.  It  is  scarcely 
open  to  doubt  that  at  a  very  early  stage  in  the  development  of 
primitive  mechanical  art,  the  exceptional  aptitude  of  skilled 
workmen  was  recognised  and  brought  into  use  for  the  general 
benefit.  Co-operation  and  some  division  of  labour  in  the 
industrial  arts,  necessary  to  meet  the  universal  demand  for 
tools  and  weapons,  appear  also  to  have  been  recognised  from  a 
very  remote  period  in  the  social  life  of  the  race.  There  were 
the  quarriers  for  the  flint,  the  obsidian,  the  shale,  the  pipe- 
stones,  the  favourite  minerals,  and  the  close-grained  igneous 
rocks,  adapted  for  the  variety  of  implements  in  general  use. 
There  were  also  the  traders  by  whom  the  raw  material  was 
transported  to  regions  where  it  could  only  be  procured  by 
barter;  as  appears  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  repeated 
discovery,  not  only  of  flint  and  stone  implements,  alike  iu 
stray  examples,  and  in  well- furnished  caches ;  but  also  of  work- 
places, remote  from  any  flint-producing  formation,  strewn  with 
the  chips,  flakes,  and  imperfect  or  unfinished  implements  of 
the  tool-makers.  It  thus  becomes  obvious  that  the  men  of  the 
earliest  Stone  age  transported  suitable  material  for  their  simple 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  IN  THE  STONE  AGE      129 

arts  from  many  remote  localities,  and  purchased  the  services 
of  the  skilled  workman  with  the  produce  of  the  chase,  or 
whatever  other  equivalent  they  could  offer  in  exchange.  The 
further  archaeological  search  is  extended,  the  evidence  of  social 
co-operation  and  systematised  industry  among  the  men  of  the 
Palaeolithic  era,  as  well  as  among  those  of  later  periods  prior  to 
the  dawn  of  metallurgic  skill,  becomes  more  apparent.  Nor  is 
it  less  interesting  to  note  that  there  was  no  more  equality 
among  the  men  of  those  primitive  ages,  than  in  later  civilised 
stages  of  social  progress.  Diversities  in  capacity  and  consequent 
moral  force  asserted  themselves  in  the  skilled  handicraftsmen 
of  the  Palaeolithic  dawn,  much  as  they  do  in  the  most  artificial 
states  of  modern  society.  As  a  natural  concomitant  to  this, 
and  an  invaluable  element  of  co-operation,  the  prized  flint  flakes 
appear  to  have  furnished  a  primitive  medium  of  exchange,  more 
generally  available  as  a  currency  of  recognised  value  than  any 
other  substitute  for  coined  money.  The  principles  on  which 
the  wealth  of  nations  and  the  whole  social  fabric  of  human 
society  depend,  were  thus  already  in  operation  ages  before  the 
merchants  of  Tyre,  or  the  traders  of  Massala,  had  learned  to 
turn  to  account  the  mineral  resources  of  the  Cassiterides ;  or 
that  vague,  and  still  more  remote  era  before  the  ancient 
Atlantis  had  vanished  from  the  ken  of  the  civilised  dwellers 
around  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 


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PEE-AEYAN  AMEEICAN  MAN 


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The  department  of  American  ethnology,  notwithstanding  its 
many  indefatigable  workers,  is  still  to  a  large  extent  a  virgin 
soil.  The  western  hemisphere  is  rich  in  materials  for  ethnical 
study,  but  there  is  urgent  demand  for  diligent  labourers  to 
rescue  them  for  future  use.  On  all  hands  we  see  ancient 
nations  passing  away.  The  prairie  tribes  are  vanishing  with 
the  buffalo ;  the  Flathead  Indians  of  diverse  types  and  stranger 
tongues ;  and,  more  interesting  than  either,  the  ingenious 
Haidahs  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  Islands :  are  all  diminishing 
in  numbers,  giving  up  their  distinctive  customs,  and  confusing 
their  mythic  and  legendary  traditions  with  foreign  admixtures ; 
while  some  are  destined  to  speedy  extinction. 

When,  in  1846,  the  artist,  Paul  Kane,  entered  on  his 
exploratory  travels  among  the  tribes  of  the  North-West,  the 
Flathead  Indians  of  Oregon  and  British  Columbia  embraced 
populous  settlements  of  Cowlitz,  Chinook,  Newatee,  and  other 
nations.  Now  the  researches  of  the  American  Bureau  of 
Ethnology  are  stimulated  by  the  disclosure  that  of  the  Clatsop 
and  Chinook  tribes  there  are  only  three  survivors  who  speak 
the  former  language,  and  only  one  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
latter.  Of  the  Klaskanes,  in  like  manner,  only  one  is  known 
to  survive;  and  from  a  like  solitary  representative  of  the 
Tuteloes  the  language  of  a  vanished  race  has  recently  been 
rescued.  With  all  the  native  tribes  who  have  been  brought 
into  near  relations  with  the  intruding  white  race  their 
languages  and  customs  are  undergoing  important  modifications. 
Other  elements  of  confusion  and  erasure  are  also  at  work.     A 


to, ill 


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ilr 


PREARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


131 


large  influx  of  Chinese  complicates  the  ethnological  problem; 
and  it  cannot  be  wisely  left  to  the  efforts  of  individuals,  carried 
on  without  concert,  and  on  no  comprehensive  or  systematic 
plan,  to  rescue  for  future  study  the  invaluable  materials  of 
American  ethnology.  To  the  native  languages  especially  the 
inquirer  into  some  of  the  curious  problems  involved  in  the 
peopling  of  this  continent  must  look  for  a  key  to  the  mystery. 

The  intelligent  inquirer  cannot  fail  to  be  rewarded  for  any 
time  he  may  devote  to  a  consideration  of  the  condition  and 
relative  status  of  the  aborigines,  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
not  only  as  studied  from  existing  native  tribes,  or  from  ^hose 
known  since  the  discovery  of  America  in  1492,  but  in  so  far 
as  we  can  determine  their  earlier  condition  with  the  aid  of 
archpeological  evidence.  The  student  of  the  history  of  the 
North  American  nations  cannot  indeed  altogether  overlook  the 
undoubted  fact  that  Columbus  was  not  the  first  of  European 
voyagers  within  the  Christian  era  to  enter  on  the  colonisation 
of  the  western  hemisphere ;  whatever  value  he  may  attach  to 
the  legends  and  traditions  of  more  ancient  explorers. 

The  part  played  by  the  Scandinavian  stock  in  European 
history  proves  their  abundant  aptitude  to  have  been  the 
organisers  of  a  Northland  of  their  own  in  the  New  World. 
The  Northmen  lingered  behind,  in  their  first  home  in  the 
Scandinavian  peninsida,  while  Goth,  Longobard,  Vandal, 
Suevi,  Frank,  Burgundian,  and  other  tribes  from  the  Baltic  first 
wasted  and  then  revolutionised  the  Eoman  world.  But  they 
were  nursing  a  vigorous  youth,  which  ere  long,  as  pagan  Dane, 
and  then  as  Norman,  stamped  a  new  character  on  mediaeval 
Europe.  Their  presence  in  the  New  World  rests  on  indubitable 
evidence;  but  the  very  definiteness  of  its  character  in  their 
inhospitable  northern  retreat  helps  to  destroy  all  faith  in  any 
mere  conjectural  fancies  relative  to  their  settlement  on  points 
along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  which  they  are  supposed  to  have 
visited. 

Runic  inscriptions  on  the  Canadian  and  New  England 
seaboard  would,  if  genuine,  give  an  entirely  novel  aspect  to 
our  study  of  Pre-Columbian  American  history,  with  all  its 
possibilities  of  older  intercourse  with  the  eastern  hemisphere. 
But  it  is  the  same  whether  we  seek  for  traces  of  colonisation  in 
the  tenth  or  the  fifteenth  century,  in  so  far  as  all  native  history 


p  * 


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*» 


132 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


is  concerned.  They  equally  little  suffice  to  furnish  evidence 
of  relationship,  in  blood,  language,  arts  or  customs,  between 
any  people  of  the  eastern  hemisphere  and  the  native  American 
races.  We  are  indeed  invited  from  time  to  time  to  review 
indications  suggestive  of  an  Asiatic  or  other  old-world  source 
for  the  American  aborigines ;  and  in  nearly  every  system  of 
ethnical  classification  they  are,  with  good  reason,  ranked  as 
Mongolidse ;  but  if  their  pedigree  is  derived  from  an  Asiatic 
stock,  the  evidence  has  yet  to  be  marshalled  which  shall  place 
on  any  well-established  basis  the  proofs  of  direct  ethnical  affinity 
between  them  and  races  of  the  eastern  hemisphere.  The 
ethnological  problem  is,  here  as  elsewhere,  beset  by  many 
obscuring  elements.  Language,  at  best,  yields  only  remote 
analogies,  and  thus  far  American  archeology,  though  studied 
with  unflagging  zeal,  has  been  able  to  render  very  partial  aid. 

It  cannot  admit  of  question  that  the  compass  of  American 
archaeology, — including  that  of  the  semi-civilised  and  lettered 
races  of  Central  and  Southern  America, — is  greatly  circumscribed 
in  comparison  with  that  of  Europe.  But  the  simplicity  which 
results  from  this  has  some  compensating  elements  in  its  direct 
adaptation  to  the  study  of  man,  as  he  appears  on  the  continent 
unaffected  by  the  artificialities  of  a  forced  civilisation,  and 
with  so  little  that  can  lend  countenance  to  any  theory  of 
degeneracy  from  a  higher  condition  of  life.  In  the  modern 
alliance  between  archseology  and  geology,  and  the  novel 
views  which  have  resulted  as  to  the  antiquity  01  man, 
the  characteristic  disclosures  of  primitive  art,  alike  among 
ancient  and  modern  races,  have  given  a  significance  to  familiar 
phases  of  savage  life  undreamt  of  till  very  recently.  The 
student  who  has  by  such  means  formed  a  definite  conception 
of  primeval  art,  and  realised  some  idea  of  the  condition  and 
acquirements  of  the  savage  of  Europe's  Post-Pliocene  era,  turns 
with  renewed  interest  to  living  races  seemingly  perpetuating  in 
arts  and  habits  of  our  own  day  what  gave  character  to  the  social 
life  of  the  prehistoric  dawn.  This  phase  of  primitive  art  can 
still  be  studied  on  more  than  one  continent,  and  in  many  an 
island  of  the  Pacific  and  the  Indian  ocean;  but  nowhere  is 
the  apparent  reproduction  of  such  initial  phases  of  the  history 
of  our  race  presented  in  so  comprehensive  an  aspect  as  on  the 
American  continent.     There  man  is  to  be  found  in  no  degree 


ittii'i  .V  ■  . 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


133 


superior  in  arts  or  habits  to  the  Australian  savage;  while 
evidence  of  ingenious  skill  and  of  considerable  artistic  taste 
occur  among  nomads  exposed  to  the  extremest  privations  of 
an  Arctic  climate ;  and  with  no  more  knowledge  of  metallurgy 
than  is  implied  in  occasionally  turning  to  account  the  malleable 
native  copper,  by  hammering  it  into  the  desired  shape ;  or,  in 
their  intercourse  with  Arctic  voyagers  and  Hudson's  Bay 
trappers,  acquiring  by  barter  some  few  implements  and 
weapons  of  European  manufacture.  The  arts  of  the  patient 
Eskimo,  exercised  under  the  stimulus  of  their  constant  struggle 
for  existence  amid  all  the  hardships  of  a  polar  climate,  have, 
indeed,  not  only  suggested  comparisons  between  them  and  the 
artistic  cave-dwellers  of  Central  Europe  in  its  prehistoric  dawn  ; 
but  have  been  assumed  to  prove  an  ethnical  affinity,  and  direct 
descent,  altogether  startling  when  we  fully  realise  the  remote 
antiquity  thereby  assigned  to  those  Arctic  nomads,  and  the 
unchanging  condition  ascribed  to  them  through  all  the  inter- 
vening ages  of  geographical  and  social  revolution. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  value  ultimately  assigned  to  the 
Eskimo  pedigree,  a  like  phenomenon  of  unprogressive  humanity, 
perpetuating  through  countless  generations  the  same  rudimentary 
arts,  everywhere  presents  itself,  and  seems  to  me  to  constitute 
the  really  remarkable  feature  in  North  American  ethnology  and 
archaeology.  "We  find,  not  only  in  Canada  but  throughout  the 
whole  region  northward  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  diversified 
illustrations  of  savage  life ;  but  nearly  all  of  them  unaffected  by 
traces  of  contact  with  earlier  civilisation.  From  the  northern 
frontiers  of  Canada  the  explorer  may  travel  through  widely 
diversified  regions  till  he  reach  the  canons  of  Mexico  and  the 
ruined  cities  of  Central  America ;  and  all  that  he  finds  of  race 
and  art,  of  language  or  native  tradition,  is  in  contrast  to  the 
diversities  of  the  European  record  of  manifold  successions  of 
races  and  of  arts.  There  within  the  Arctic  circle  the  Eskimo 
constructo  his  lodge  of  snow,  and  successfully  maintains  the 
battle  for  life  under  conditions  which  determine  to  a  large 
extent  the  character  of  his  ingenious  arts  and  manufacture. 
Immediately  to  the  south  are  found  the  nomad  tribes  of  forest 
and  prairie,  with  their  teepees  of  buffalo  skin,  or  their  birch- 
bark  wigwams  and  canoes:  wandering  hunter-tribes  of  the 
great  North-West ;  type  of  the  red  Indian  of  the  whole  northern 


]^ 


'  -•.!  •■ 


134 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


If.. 


titi^ 


1  ^  • 


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i 


if  U  '  ' 

fffi 


continent.  The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  abound  witli 
earthworks  and  other  remains  of  the  vanished  race  of  the 
Mound-Builders :  of  old  the  dwellers  there  in  fortified  towns, 
agriculturalists,  ingenious  potters,  devoted  to  the  use  of  tobacco, 
expending  laborious  art  on  their  sculptured  pipes,  and  with 
some  exceptionally  curious  skill  in  practical  geometry ;  yet, 
they  too,  ignorant  of  almost  the  very  rudiments  of  metallurgy, 
and  only  in  the  first  stage  of  the  organised  life  of  a  settled 
community.  The  modifying  influences  of  circumstances  must 
be  recognised  in  the  migratory  or  settled  habits  of  different 
tribes.  The  Eskimo  are  of  necessity  hunters  and  fishers,  yet 
they  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  nomads.  In  summer  they  live 
in  tents,  constantly  moving  from  place  to  place,  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  reindeer-hunting,  seal-hunting,  or  fishing  impel  them. 
But  they  generally  winter  in  the  same  place  for  successive 
generations,  and  manifest  as  strong  an  attachment  to  their 
native  home  as  the  dwellers  in  more  favoured  lands.  Their 
dwelling-houses  accommodate  from  three  or  four  to  ten  families ; 
and  the  same  tendency  to  gather  in  communities  under  one 
roof  is  worthy  of  notice  wherever  other  wandering  tribes  settle 
even  temporarily.  A  drawing,  made  by  me  in  1866,  of  a 
birch-bark  dwelling  which  stood  among  a  group  of  ordinary 
wigwams  on  the  banks  of  the  Kaministiquia,  shows  a  lodge 
of  sufficiently  large  dimensions  to  accommodate  several  f^^milies 
of  a  band  of  Chippaways,  who  had  come  from  the  far  West  to 
trade  their  furs  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  factor  there.  The 
Haidahs,  the  Chinooks,  the  Nootkas,  the  Columbian  and  other 
Indian  tribes  to  the  west  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  all  use 
temporary  tents  or  huts  in  their  frequent  summer  wanderings ; 
but  their  peimanent  dwellings  are  huge  structures  sufficient  to 
accommodate  many  families,  and  sometimes  the  whole  tribe. 
They  are  constructed  of  logs  or  split  planks,  and  in  some 
cases,  as  among  the  Haidahs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  they 
are  elaborately  decorated  with  carving  and  painting. 

The  gregarious  habits  thus  manifested  by  many  wandering 
tribes,  whenever  circumstances  admit  of  their  settling  down  in  a 
permanent  home,  may  be  due  mainly  to  the  economy  of  labour 
which  experience  has  taught  them  in  the  construction  of  one 
common  dwelling,  instead  of  the  multiplication  of  single  huts 
or  lodges.     But  far  to  the  southward  are  the  ancient  pueblos, 


f-4 ' 


PR  EAR  VAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


m 


the  casas  grandea,  the  cliff  dwellings,  of  a  race  not  yet  extinct : 
timid,  unaggressive,  living  wholly  on  the  defensive,  gathered  in 
large  communities  like  ants  or  bees ;  industrious,  frugal,  and 
manifesting  ingenious  skill  in  their  pottery  and  other  useful 
arts ;  but,  they  too,  in  no  greatly  advanced  stage.  Still  farther 
to  the  south  we  come  at  length  to  the  seats  of  an  undoubted 
native  American  civilisation.  The  comparative  isolation  of 
Central  America,  and  the  character  of  its  climate  and  pro- 
ductions, all  favoured  a  more  settled  life;  with,  as  genuine 
results,  its  architecture,  sculpture,  metallurgy,  hieroglyphics, 
writing,  and  all  else  that  gives  so  novel  a  character  to  the 
memorials  of  the  Central  American  nations.  But  great  as  is 
their  contrast  with  the  wild  tribes  of  the  continent,  the  highest 
phases  of  native  civilisation  will  not  compare  with  the  arts  of 
Egypt,  in  centuries  before  Cadmus  taught  letters  to  the  rude 
shepherds  of  Attica,  or  the  wolf  still  suckled  her  cubs  on  the 
Palatine  hill. 

If  this  is  a  correct  reading  of  American  archfeology,  its 
bearings  are  significant  in  reference  to  the  whole  history  of 
American  man.  In  Europe  the  student  of  primitive  antiquity 
is  habitually  required  to  disciiminate  between  products  of  in- 
genious skill  belonging  to  periods  and  races  widely  separated 
alike  by  time  and  by  essentially  diverse  stages  of  progress  in 
art  For  not  only  do  its  Palseolithic  and  Neolithic  periods  long 
precede  the  oldest  written  chronicles ;  but  even  its  Aryan 
colonisation  lies  beyond  any  record  of  historic  beginnings. 
The  civilisation  which  had  already  grown  up  around  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  while  the  classic  nations  were  in  their 
infancy,  extended  its  influences  not  only  to  what  was  strictly 
regarded  as  transalpine  Europe,  but  beyond  the  English 
Channel  and  the  Baltic,  centuries  before  the  Ehine  and  Danube 
formed  the  boundary  of  the  Eoman  world.  Voltaire,  when 
treating  of  the  morals  and  spirit  of  nations,  says :  "  It  is  not  in 
the  nature  of  man  to  desire  that  which  he  does  not  know." 
But  it  is  certainly  in  his  nature,  at  any  rate,  to  desire  much 
that  he  does  not  possess ;  and  the  cravings  of  the  rudest  out- 
lying tribes  of  ancient  Europe  must  have  been  stimulated  by 
many  desires  of  which  those  of  the  New  World  were  un- 
conscious till  the  advent  of  Europeans  in  the  fifteenth  century 
brought  them  into  contact  with  a  long-matured  civilisation. 


eh, J 


'^:. 


f 

t « 
h 


mi  ■ 


1 1  -     "i 


j; 


1^?' 


i'-i 


I'  .! 


i 


1  i 
If- 

El    i 
ilk'  ,- 

M 

*  ','"" 

<Sn, 

fl 

iA,'*t 

1  l{y'4s. 

A 

136 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


The  archiDology  of  the  American  continent  is,  in  this  respect, 
at  least,  simple.  Its  student  is  nowhere  exposed  to  misleading 
or  obscuring  elements  such  as  baffle  the  European  explorer 
from  the  intermingling  of  relics  of  widely  diverse  eras,  or  even 
such  a  succession  of  arts  of  the  most  dissimilar  character  as 
Dr.  Schliemann  found  on  the  site  of  the  classic  Ilium.  The 
history  of  America  cannot  repeat  that  of  Europe.  Its  great  river- 
valleys  and  vast  prairies  present  a  totally  different  condition  of 
things  from  that  in  which  the  distinctive  arts,  languages,  and 
nationalities  of  Europe  have  been  matured.  The  physical 
geography  of  the  latter  with  its  great  central  Alpine  chain,  its 
highlands,  its  dividing  seas,  its  peninsulas,  and  islands,  has 
necessarily  fostered  isolation  ;  and  so  has  tended  to  develop  the 
peculiarities  of  national  character-,  as  well  as  to  protect  incipient 
civilisation  and  immature  arts  from  the  constant  erasures  of 
barbarism.  The  steppes  of  Asia  in  older  centuries  proved 
the  nurseries  of  hordes  of  rude  warriors,  powerful  only  for 
spoliation.  The  evidence  of  the  isolation  of  the  nations  of 
Europe  in  early  centuries  is  unmistakable.  Scar  >  any 
feature  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world  is  more  %&  to 

us  now  tlian  the  absence  of  all  direct  intercourse  between 
countries  separated  only  by  the  Alps,  or  even  by  the  Danube 
or  the  Rhine.  "  The  geography  of  Greek  experience,  as  ex- 
hibited by  Homer,  is  limited,  speaking  generally,  to  the  uEgean 
and  its  coasts,  with  the  Propontis  as  its  limit  in  the  north-east ; 
with  Crete  for  a  southern  boundary ;  and  with  the  addition  of 
the  western  coast  of  the  peninsula  and  its  islands  as  far  north- 
wards as  the  Leucadian  rock.  The  key  to  the  great  contrast 
between  the  outer  geography  and  the  facts  of  nature  lies  in  the 
belief  of  Homer  that  a  great  sea  occupied  the  space  where  we 
know  the  heart  of  the  European  continent  to  lie."  ^  To  the 
early  Eomans  the  Celtic  nations  were  known  only  as  warlike 
nomads  whose  incursions  from  beyond  the  Alpine  frontier  of 
their  little  world  were  perpetuated  in  the  half  legendary  tales 
of  their  own  national  childhood.  To  the  Greek  even  of  the 
days  of  Herodotus  no  more  was  known  of  the  Gauls  or 
Germans  than  the  rumours  brought  by  seamen  and 
traders  whose  farthest  voyage  was  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ehone. 

1  Gladstone,  Juventus  Mundi,  pp.  474,  479. 


f 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


1S7 


It  is,  indeed,  difficult  for  us  now,  amid  the  intimate  re- 
lations of  the  modern  world,  and  the  interchange  of  products  of 
the  remotest  east  and  west,  to  realise  a  condition  of  things 
when  the  region  beyond  the  Alps  was  a  mystery  to  the  Greek 
historian,  and  the  verv  existence  of  the  river  lihine  was 
questioned ;  or  when,  four  centuries  later,  the  nations  around 
the  Baltic,  which  were  before  long  to  supplant  the  masters  of 
the  Eoman  world,  were  so  entirely  unknown  to  them  that,  as 
Dr.  Arnold  remarks,  in  one  of  his  letters  :  "  The  Roman  colonies 
along  the  Bhine  and  the  Danube  looked  out  on  the  country 
beyond  those  rivers  as  we  look  up  at  the  stars,  and  actually  see 
with  our  own  eyes  a  world  of  which  we  know  nothing."  Yet 
such  ignorance  was  not  incompatible  with  indirect  intercourse  ; 
and  was  so  far  from  excluding  t  he  barbarians  beyond  the  Alps 
or  the  Baltic  from  all  the  fruits  of  the  civilisation  which  grew 
up  arouna  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  that  the  elements  of  the 
oldest  runic  epigraphy  of  the  Goths  and  Scandinavians  are 
traced  to  that  source;  and  the  stam]  f  Hellenic  influence  is 
apparent  in  the  later  runic  writing.  Moreover  the  elucidation 
of  European  archeeology  has  owed  its  chief  impediment  to  the 
difficulty  of  discriminating  between  arts  of  diverse  eras  and 
races  of  northern  Europe,  intermingled  with  those  of  its 
Neolithic  and  Bronze  periods ;  or  of  separating  them  from  the 
true  products  of  Celtic  and  classic  workmanship. 

It  is  altogether  different  with  American  archseolofj.  Were 
there  any  traces  there  of  Celtic,  Eoman,  or  meditevai  European 
art,  the  whole  tendency  of  the  American  mind  vould  be  to 
give  even  an  exaggerated  value  to  their  influence.  Superficial 
students  of  the  ruins  of  Mexico  and  Central  i*.merica  have 
misinterpreted  characteristics  pertaining  to  wliat  may  not 
inaptly  be  designated  instincts  common  to  the  human  mind  in 
its  first  efforts  at  visible  expression  of  its  ideas ;  and  have 
recognised  in  them  fancied  analogies  with  ancient  Egyptian 
art,  or  with  the  mythology  and  astronomical  science  of  the 
East.  Had,  indeed,  the  more  advanced  nations  of  the  New 
World  borrowed  the  arts  of  Egypt,  India,  or  Greece,  the  great 
river  highways  and  the  vast  unbroken  levels  of  the  northern 
continent  presented  abundant  facilities  for  their  diffusion,  with 
no  greater  aid  than  the  birch-bark  canoe  of  the  northern 
savage.     The  copper  of  Lake  Superior  was  familiar  to  nations 


Y 


Bit   ' 


138 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


W 


fe. 


m>- 


on  the  banlcs  of  the  Mississippi,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Hudson, 
and  the  Delaware.  Nor  was  the  influence  of  southern  civilisa- 
tion wholly  inoperativ:  Eeflex  traces  of  the  prolific  fancy  of 
the  Peruvian  potter  may  be  detected  in  the  rude  ware  of  the 
mounds  of  Georgia  and  Tennessee ;  and  the  conventional  art 
of  Yucatan  reappears  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  lodges  of  the 
Haidahs  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Islands,  and  in  the  wood  and 
ivory  carvings  of  the  Tawatin  and  other  tribes  of  British 
Columbia.  Already,  moreover,  the  elaborate  native  devices 
which  T;ive  such  distinctive  character  to  the  ivory  and  claystone 
carvings  of  the  Chimpseyan  and  Clalam  Indians,  have  been 
largely  superseded  by  reproductions  of  European  ornamentation, 
or  literal  representations  of  houses,  shipping,  horses,  fire-arms, 
and  other  objects  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  native  artist 
in  his  intercourse  with  wliite  men.  We  are  justified,  therefore, 
in  assuming  that  no  long -matured  civilisation  could  have 
existed  in  any  part  of  the  American  continent  without  leaving, 
not  only  abundant  evidence  cf  its  presence  within  its  own 
area,  but  also  many  traces  of  its  influence  far  beyond.  Yet 
it  cannot  be  said  of  the  vanished  races  of  the  North  Ameiican 
continent  that  they  died  and  made  no  sign.  Their  memorials 
are  abundant,  and  some  of  their  earthworks  and  burial  mounds 
are  on  a  gigantic  scale.  But  they  perpetuate  no  evidence  of  a 
native  civilisation  of  elder  times  bearing  the  slightest  analogy 
to  that  of  Europe  through  all  its  historic  centuries.  The 
western  hemisphere  stands  a  world  apart,  with  languages  and 
customs  essentially  its  own ;  and  with  man  and  his  arts  em- 
braced within  greatly  narrower  limits  of  development  than  in 
any  other  quarter  of  the  globe,  if  we  except  Australia.  The 
evolutionist  may,  indeed,  be  tempted  by  the  absence  no^  only 
of  the  anthropoid  apes,  but  ))y  all  but  the  lowest  families  of  the 
Primates,  to  rf^gard  man  as  a  recent  intruder  on  the  American 
continent.  But  In  this,  as  in  the  archaeologist's  deductions,  the 
term  "  recent "  is  a  relative  one.  To  whatever  source  American 
man  may  be  referred,  his  relations  to  the  old-world  races  are 
sufficiently  remote  to  preclude  any  theory  of  geographical  dis- 
tribution within  the  historic  period. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  adequate  time  that  is  wanting  for  the 
growth  of  a  native  American  civilisation.  The  only  satisfac- 
tory indication  of  the  affiliation  of  the  American  races  to  those 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


139 


of  Asia  or  Europe,  or  of  Africa,  must  be  sought  for  in  their 
languages.  But  any  trace  of  this  kind,  thus  far  observed,  is  at 
best  obscure  and  remote.  The  resemblance  in  physical  traits 
points  to  affinity  with  the  Asiatic  Mongol,  and  the  agglutinate 
characteristics  common  to  many  languages  of  the  continent, 
otherwise  essentially  dissimilar,  is  in  harmony  with  this.  But 
Asiatic  affinities  are  only  traceable  remotely,  not  demonstrable 
on  any  definite  line  of  descent;  and  all  the  evidence  that 
language  supplies  points  to  a  greatly  prolonged  period  of 
isolation.  The  number  of  languages  spoken  throughout  the 
whole  of  North  and  South  America  has  been  estimated  to 
considerably  exceed  twelve  hundred;  and  on  the  northern 
continent  alone,  more  than  five  hundred  distinct  languages 
are  spoken,  which  admit  of  classification  among  seventy-five 
ethnical  groups,  each  with  essential  linguistic  distinctions, 
pointing  to  its  own  parent  stock.  Some  of  those  languages 
are  merely  well-marked  dialects,  with  fully  developed  vocabu- 
laries. Others  have  more  recently  acquired  a  dialectic  character 
in  the  breaking  up  and  scattering  of  dismembered  tribes,  and 
present  a  very  limited  range  of  vocabulary,  suited  to  the  intel- 
lectual requirements  of  a  small  tribe,  or  band  of  nomads.  The 
prevailing  condition  of  life  throughout  the  whole  North  American 
continent  was  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  multiplication  of 
such  dialects,  and  their  growth  into  new  languages,  owing  to 
the  constant  dismemberment  of  tribes,  and  the  frequent 
adoption  into  their  numbers  of  the  refugees  from  other 
fugitive  broker  tribes,  leading  to  an  intermingling  of  vocabu- 
laries and  fresh  modifications  of  speech. 

But,  by  whatevei'  means  we  seek  to  account  for  the  great 
diversity  of  speech  among  the  communities  of  the  New  World, 
it  is  manifest  that  language  furnishes  no  evidence  of  recent 
intrusion,  or  of  contact  for  many  generations  with  Asiatic  or 
other  races.  On  any  theory  of  origin  either  of  race  or 
language,  a  greatly  prolonged  period  is  indispensable  to  ac- 
count for  the  actual  condition  of  things  which  presents  such  a 
tempting  field  for  the  study  of  the  ethnologist.  Among  the 
various  races  brought  under  notice,  the  Huron -Iroquois  of 
Canada  and  the  neighbouring  states  most  fitly  represent  the 
North  American  race  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Their 
language,  subdivided  into  many  dialects,  furnishes  indications 


h 

it* 


~m 


m 

■i*', , 


1^ 


sis  '  •■  . 


Il 


Pi 


Hi?'; 


lift,  • . 
hi  ■ 


■  f'''  "^' 


itr 


Uii 


1       1 


al't  , 


te'' 


nil.. 

I  .a'i'     i' 


140 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


of  migrations  thr'^  ighout  the  greater  portion  of  that  area  east- 
ward between  t.  0  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and 
its  affinities  have  been  sought  for  beyond  the  American  con- 
tinent. Mr.  Horatio  Hale,  an  experienced  philologist  familiar 
with  the  races  and  languages  most  nearly  akin  to  those  of 
the  New  World,  in  his  Indian  Migrations,  as  evidenced  hy 
Language,  after  remarking  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  languages 
of  the  American  Indians  to  favour  the  conjecture  of  an  origin 
from  Eastern  Asia,  thus  proceeds :  "  But  in  Western  Europe 
one  community  is  known  to  exist,  speaking  a  language  which 
in  its  general  structure  manifests  a  near  likeness  to  the  Indian 
tongues.  Alone  of  all  the  races  of  the  old  continent  the 
Basques  or  Euskarians,  of  northern  Spain  and  south-western 
France,  have  a  speech  of  that  highly  complex  and  polysynthetic 
character  which  distinguishes  the  American  languages."  But 
to  this  he  has  to  add  the  statement  that  "  there  is  not,  indeed, 
any  such  positive  similarity  in  words  or  grammar  as  would 
prove  a  direct  affiliation.  The  likeness  is  merely  in  the  general 
cast  and  mould  of  speech,  but  this  likeness  is  so  marked  as  to 
have  awakened  much  attention."  ^ 

Assuming  the  affinity  thus  based  on  a  general  likeness  in 
cast  and  mould  of  speech  to  be  well  founded,  there  need  be  no 
surprise  at  the  lack  of  any  positive  similarity  in  words  or 
grammar ;  for,  used  only  as  a  test  of  the  intervening  time  since 
Basque  and  Eed  Indian  parted,  it  points  to  representatives  of  a 
prehistoric  race  that  occupied  Europe  before  the  advent  of 
Keltic  or  other  Aryan  pioneer,  long  prior  to  the  historic  dawn. 
And  if  the  intervening  centuries  between  that  undetermined 
date  and  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  intercourse 
was  once  more  renewed  between  the  Iberian,  peninsula  and  the 
transatlantic  continent,  sufficed  for  the  evolution  of  all  the 
classic,  mediaeval,  and  renaissance  phases  of  civilisation  in 
Europe,  what  was  man  doing  through  all  those  centuries  in 
this  New  World  ?  A  period  of  time  would  appear  to  have 
transpired  ample  enough  for  the  development  of  a  native 
civilisation;  but  neither  the  languages  nor  the  arts  of  the 
Indian  nations  foimd  in  occupation  of  the  northern  continent 
reveal  traces  of  it ;  nor  does  archaeology  disclose  to  us  evidence 
of  civilised  precursors.     Whatever  their  origin  may  have  been, 

^  Indian  Migrations,  p.  24. 


i  '^i  ■  Ml 


FRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


141 


I    ,i 


rii 


the  Eed  Indian  appears  to  have  remained  for  unnumbered 
centuries  excluded  by  ocean  barriers  from  all  influence  of  the 
historic  races.  But  on  this  very  account  an  inquiry  into  the 
history  of  the  nations  of  the  American  continent,  in  so  far  as 
this  may  be  recoverable  from  archaeological  or  other  evidence, 
may  simplify  important  ethnical  problems,  and  contribute  re- 
sults of  some  value  in  reference  to  the  condition  and  rrogress 
of  primaeval  man  elsewhere. 

In  Europe  man  can  be  studied  only  as  he  has  been  moulded 
by  a  thousand  external  influences,  and  by  the  intermixture  of 
many  dissimilar  races.  The  most  recent  terms  of  ethnological 
classification,  the  Xanthocroi  and  Melanochroi,  are  based  on  the 
assumed  interblending  of  widely  dissimilar  races  in  times  long 
anterior  to  any  definite  chronology  There  was  a  time,  as  is 
assumed,  when  the  sparsely  peopled  areas  of  Europe  were 
occupied  by  a  population  still  imperfectly  represented  by  the 
Finns,  the  Lapps,  and  the  Basques.  Those  are  supposed  to  be 
surviving  fragments  of  a  once  homogeneous  population  in  pre- 
historic centuries.  On  this  the  gi'eat  Aryan  migration  intruded 
in  successive  waves  of  Celtic,  Slavic,  Hellenic  and  Tuetonic 
invaders,  not  without  considerable  intermixture  of  blood. 
Such  is  the  great  ethnical  revolution  by  which  it  is  assumed 
that  Europe  was  recolonised  from  the  same  source  from  whence 
India  and  Persia  derived  their  ancient  civilised  and  lettered 
races.  The  Finnic  hypothesis,  and  the  once  favoured  idea  of 
an  Asiatic  cradleland  for  the  whole  so-called  Aryan  races, 
have  been  greatly  modified  by  later  research.  Community  of 
language  is  no  longer  accepted  as  necessarily  involving  a  com- 
mon ethnic  origin.  But  the  results  in  no  way  affect  the  general 
conclusion  as  to  the  displacement  of  a  succession  of  barbarous 
races  by  the  historic  races  of  Europe  long  before  the  Christian 
era. 

The  year  1492  marks  the  beginning  of  an  analogous 
ethnical  revolution  by  which  the  Aryan,  or  Indo  -  European 
stock  intruded,  in  ever-increasing  numbers,  on  the  aboriginal 
populations  of  the  New  World.  The  disparity  between  the 
first  Celtic  or  other  Aryan  immigrants  into  Europe  and  the 
aborigines  whom  they  encountered  there  was  probably  less 
than  that  which  separated  the  first  American  colonists  from 
the  Eed  Indian  savages  whom  they  displaced.     In  both  cases 


•t:l 


m 


.\  jt^0 


t.' 


» 


■»«- 


142 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


Vi    ■' 


r^ij'^- 


.1.*''' 


!*!,.' .  '.■ 


j-  • .;  I 


l-^v 


I:'..;- 


I;,-, 

IE,:     • 


vvf  ?  •'  •■ 


it  was  the  meeting  of  cultured  races  with  rude  nomads  whom 
they  wore  prone  to  regard  with  an  aversion  or  contempt  very 
different  from  the  repellent  elements  between  conquering  and 
subject  nations  in  near  equality  to  each  other.  The  disparity, 
for  example,  between  the  native  Briton  and  the  intruding 
Saxon,  or  between  the  later  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  intruding 
Dane  or  Northman,  was  sufficiently  slight  to  admit  of  ready 
intermixture,  ultimately,  in  spite  of  their  bitter  antagonism. 
Nor  was  even  the  civilised  Boman  separated  by  any  such  gulf 
from  the  Gaul  or  German  who  bowed  to  the  Imperial  yoke, 
and  exchanged  their  independence  for  Eoraan  citizenship. 
But  other  elements  have  also  to  be  kept  in  view.  The 
pioneers  of  emigration  are  not,  as  a  rule,  the  most  cultured 
members  of  the  intruding  race;  while  the  disparity  in  the 
relative  numbers  of  the  sexes  inevitably  resulting  from  the 
conditions  under  which  any  extensive  migration  takes  place 
forms  an  effective  counterpoise  to  very  wide  ethnical  differ- 
ences. In  every  case  of  extensive  immigration,  with  the 
excess  of  males  and  chiefly  of  hardy  young  adventurers, 
the  same  result  is  inevitable.  On  the  American  continent 
it  has  already  produced  a  numerous  race  of  half-breeds, 
descendants  of  white  and  Indian  parentage,  apart  from  that 
other  and  not  less  interesting  "  coloured  race,"  now  numbering 
upwards  of  six  millions  in  the  T"^nited  States  alone,  the  de- 
scendants of  European  and  African  parentage.  In  the  older 
provinces  of  Canada,  the  remnants  of  the  aboriginal  Indian 
tribes  have  been  gathered  on  suitable  reserves;  and  on  many 
of  these,  so  far  are  they  from  hastening  to  extinction,  that 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the  returns  of  the  Indian 
Department  show  a  steady  numerical  increase.  In  the  United 
States,  under  less  favourable  circumstances,  similar  results  are 
beginning  to  be  recognised.  In  a  report  on  "  Indian  Civilisa- 
tion and  Education,"  dated  Washington,  November  24,  1877, 
it  is  set  forth  as  more  and  more  tending  to  assume  the  aspect 
of  an  established  fact,  "that  the  Indians,  instead  of  being 
doomed  to  extinction  within  a  limited  period,  are,  as  a  rule, 
not  decreasing  in  numbers ;  and  are,  in  all  probability, 
destined  to  form  a  permanent  factor;  an  enduring  element 
of  our  population."  Wherever  the  aborigines  have  been 
gathered   together   upon    suitable    reserves,    and   trained   to 


m^^): 


!»'■ 


w 


^ 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


Hi 


many 
,  that 
Indian 
Jnited 
ilts  are 
ivilisa- 
1877, 
aspect 
being 
a  rule, 
)ability, 
ilement 
been 
ned   to 


industrious  habits,  as  among  the  Six  Nation  Indians,  settled 
on  the  Grand  river,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario ;  or  where 
they  have  mingled  on  terms  of  equality  with  the  white 
settlers,  as  within  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  territory  on  the 
Ked  river,  they  have  after  a  time  showed  indications  of 
endurance.  It  is  not  a  mere  intermingling  of  white  and 
Indian  settlers,  but  the  increase  of  the  community  by  the 
growth  of  a  half  -  breed  population ;  and  when  this  takes 
place  under  favourable  circumstances,  as  was  notably  the  case 
so  long  as  the  hunter  tribes  of  the  prairies  and  the  trappers 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  shared  the  great  North-West  as 
a  common  hunting-ground,  the  results  are  altogether  favourable 
to  the  endurance  of  the  mixed  race.  On  a  nearly  similar 
footing  we  may  conceive  of  the  admixture  of  the  earliest 
Aryans  with  the  Allophylians  of  Europe,  resulting  in  some  of 
the  most  noticeable  types  of  modern  European  nationalities. 
The  growth  in  the  territory  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of 
a  numerous  half-breed  population,  assuming  the  status  of 
farming  hunters,  distinct  alike  from  the  Indians  and  the 
Whites,  is  a  fact  of  singular  interest  to  the  ethnologist.  It 
has  been  the  result  of  alliances,  chiefly  with  Indian  Cree 
women,  by  the  fur  trappers  of  the  region.  But  these  included 
two  distinct  elements :  the  one  a  Scottish  immigration,  chiofly 
from  the  Orkney  Islands ;  the  other  that  of  the  French  Cana- 
dians, who  long  preceded  the  English  as  hunters  and  trappers 
in  the  North -West.  The  contrasting  Scottish  and  French 
paternity  reveals  itself  in  the  hybrid  offspring;  but  in  both 
cases  the  half-breeds  are  a  large  and  robust  race,  with  greater 
powers  of  endurance  than  the  pure-blood  Indian.  They  have 
been  described  to  me  by  more  than  one  trustworthy  observer 
as  "  superior  in  every  respect,  both  mentally  and  physically," 
and  this  is  confirmed  by  my  own  experience.  The  same 
opinion  has  been  expressed  by  nearly  all  who  have  paid  special 
attention  to  the  hybrid  races  of  the  New  World.  D'Orbigny, 
when  referring  to  the  general  result  of  this  intermingling  of 
races  says:  "Among  the  nations  in  America  the  product  is 
always  superior  to  the  two  types  that  are  mixed."  Henry,  a 
traveller  of  the  last  century,  who  spent  six  years  among  the 
North  American  Indians,  notes  the  confirmatory  assurance 
gi/en  to  him  by  a  Cristineaux  chief,  that  "  the  children  borne 


•tl 


I 


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te^-?:- 


li.^'t',"  '   ■    "  - 


ft* 


144 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


by  their  women  to  Europeans  were  bolder  warriors  and  better 
hunters  than  themselves."  Finally,  of  the  hardy  race  of  the 
Arctic  circle  Dr.  Kane  says:  "The  half-breeds  of  the  coast 
rival  the  Esquimaux  in  their  powers  of  endurance."  There  is 
also  a  fine  race  in  Greenland,  half  Danes ;  and  Dr.  Eae  informs 
me  that  numerous  half-breed  Eskimo  are  to  be  met  with  on 
the  Labrador  coast.  They  are  taller  and  more  hardy  than  the 
pure-blooded  Eskimo ;  so  that  he  always  gave  the  preference 
to  them  as  his  guides.  The  Danish  half-breeds  are  described 
by  Dr.  Henry  Eink,  in  his  Tales  and  Traditions  of  the  Eskimo, 
as  dating  back  to  the  earliest  times  of  the  colonisation  of 
Greenland.  The  mixed  marriages,  he  says,  "have  generally 
been  rich  in  offspring.  The  children  for  the  most  part  grow 
up  as  complete  Greenlanders " ;  but  the  distinction  between 
them  and  the  native  Eskimo  is  unmistakable,  although  indi- 
viduals of  the  hybrid  offspring  represent  the  mixture  of 
European  and  native  blood  in  almost  every  possible  proportion. 

From  the  conquest  of  Mexico  in  1520,  and  of  Peru  in  1534, 
this  admixture  of  races  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World  has 
been  going  on  in  varying  ratio  according  to  the  relative  circum- 
stances under  which  they  meet.  In  Mexico  and  in  the  more 
civilised  portions  of  South  America  the  half-breeds  are  esti- 
mated to  constitute  fully  one-fifth  of  the  whole  population, 
while  the  so  -  called  "  coloured  people,"  the  descendants  of 
European  and  African  parentage,  now  number  not  less  than 
fifteen  millions  throughout  the  mainland  and  the  Islands  of 
North  and  South  America. 

Throughout  the  northern,  southern,  and  western  states  of 
America,  on  the  Pacific  slope,  and  in  Canada,  the  growth  of  a 
mixed  race  of  White  and  Indian  blood  has  everywhere  taken 
place  in  the  first  period  of  settlement,  when  the  frontier  back- 
woodsman and  the  hunter  were  brought  into  contact  with  the 
native  tribes.  Along  the  borders  of  every  frontier  state  a 
nearly  exclusive  male  population  is  compelled  to  accept  the 
services  of  the  Indian  women  in  any  attempt  at  domestic  life. 
The  children  grow  up  to  share  in  perfect  equality  the  rude  life 
of  their  fathers.  Tlie  new  generation  presents  a  mixed  race  of 
hardy  trappers,  mingling  the  aptitudes  of  both  races  in  the  wild 
life  of  the  frontier.  With  the  increase  of  population,  and  the 
more  settled  life  of  the  clearing,  the  traces  of  mixed  blood  are 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


MS 


lost  sight  of;  but  it  is  to  a  large  extent  only  a  repetition  of 
what  appears  to  have  marked  the  advent  of  the  Aryan  im- 
migrants into  Europe.  The  new,  but  more  civilised  race 
predominated.  Literal  extermination,  no  doubt,  did  its  work, 
and  the  aborigines  to  a  large  extent  perished.  But  no  incon- 
siderable remnant  finally  disappeared  by  absorption  into  the 
general  stock ;  not  without  leaving  enduring  evidence  of  the 
process  in  the  Melanochroi,  or  dark  whites — the  Iberians,  or 
Black  Celts,  as  they  are  sometimes  styled, — of  Western  Europe ; 
as  well  as  in  the  allied  type,  not  only  of  the  Mediterranean 
shores,  but  of  Western  Asia  and  Persia.  A  process  has  thus 
been  going  on  on  the  American  continent  for  four  centuries, 
which  cannot  fail  to  beget  new  types  in  the  future ;  even  as  a 
like  process  is  seen  to  have  produced  them  under  analogous 
conditions  in  ancient  Europe. 

Viewed  in  this  aspect,  the  archaeology  and  ethnology  of  the 
New  World  presents  in  some  important  respects  a  startling 
analogy  to  pre- Aryan  Europe.  Assuredly  the  status  of  the 
Allophylian  races  of  Europe  can  scarcely  have  been  inferior  to 
that  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  aborigines  of  America  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Probably  the  Aryan 
pioneers  were  fully  equal  to  its  first  European  immigi-ants. 
But  if  the  ethnical  characteristics  of  American  man  are  simple, 
and  the  aspect  of  his  social  life  appears  to  realise  for  us  a 
living  analogy  to  that  of  Europe's  Neolithic,  if  not  in  some 
respects  to  that  of  its  Palaeolithic  era,  the  question  of  his 
antiquity  acquires  a  new  interest;  for  it  thus  becomes  apparent 
that  man  may  remain  through  countless  ages  in  the  wild 
hunter  stage,  as  unprogressive  as  any  other  denizen  of  the 
wilderness  propagating  its  species  and  hunting  for  its  prey. 
But  the  whole  question  of  the  antiquity  of  man  has  undergone 
rt  marvellous  revolution.  The  literature  of  modern  geology 
curiously  illustrates  its  progress,  from  the  date  of  the  publica- 
tion of  Dean  Buckland's  .Eeliquice  Biluviancv,  in  1823,  to  the 
final  edition  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell's  Principles  of  Geology,  in 
1872,  and  the  latest  embodiment  of  his  conclusions  on  the 
special  question  involved  in  his  Antiquity  of  Man. 

The  determination  of  a  Palaeolithic  period  for  Europe,  with 
its  rude  implements  of  flint  or  stone,  chipped  into  shape 
without  the   aid  of  any  grinding  or  polishing  process,  and 

L 


i'! 


ti 


I"'  ' 


iK"''' 


it  hi 


'I 


!?.  .  ■  ^3 


146 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


belonging  to  an  era  when  man  was  associated  with  animals 
either  extinct  or  known  only  throughout  the  historic  period  in 
extreme  northern  latitudes,  has  naturally  stimulated  the 
research  of  American  archaeologists  for  corresponding  traces  on 
this  continent.  Nor  is  the  anticipation  of  the  possible  recovery 
of  the  traces  of  man's  presence  in  post-glacial,  or  still  earlier 
epochs  in  unhistoric  areas,  limited  to  either  continent.  If  it 
be  accepted  as  an  established  fact  that  man  has  existed  in 
Europe  for  unnumbered  ages,  during  which  enormous  physical 
changes  have  been  wrought;  upheaval  and  denudation  have 
revolutionised  the  face  of  the  continent ;  the  deposition  of  the 
whole  drift  formation  has  been  effected ;  the  river  valleys  of 
Southern  England  and  the  north  of  France  have  been  exca- 
vated, and  the  British  Islands  detached  from  the  neighbouring 
continent :  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  improbable  that  evidence 
may  yet  be  found  of  the  early  presence  of  man  in  any  region 
of  the  globe.  Nevertheless  some  of  the  elements  already 
referred  to  tend  to  mark  with  a  character  of  their  own  the 
investigations  alike  of  the  archaeologist  and  the  geologist  into 
the  earliest  traces  of  human  art  in  what  we  have  learned 
habitually  to  speak  of  as  a  New  World.  In  Europe  the 
antiquary,  familiar  already  with  ancient  historic  remains,  had 
passed  by  a  natural  transition  to  the  study  of  ruder  examples 
of  primitive  art  in  stone  and  bronze,  as  well  as  to  the  physical 
characteristics  of  races  which  appeared  to  have  preceeded  the 
earliest  historic  nations.  The  occupation  of  the  British 
Islands,  for  example,  successively  by  Celts,  Eomans,  Anglo- 
Saxons,  Danes,  and  Normans,  was  so  familiar  to  the  popular 
mind  that  the  problem  of  a  sequence  of  neolithic,  bronze,  and 
the  ruder  iron  implements  with  their  correlated  personal 
ornaments,  pottery,  etc.,  was  universally  solved  by  referring 
them  to  Celtic,  Eoman,  and  Scandinavian  art.  Erroneous  as 
this  interpretation  of  the  evidence  proves  to  have  been,  it  had, 
nevertheless,  sufficient  accordance  with  truth  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  ultimate  reception  of  more  accurate  inductions. 
The  fact  of  the  occurrence  of  successive  phases  of  art,  and 
I'heir  indication  of  a  succession  of  races,  were  undoubted ;  and 
researches  directed  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  European 
archaeology  were  unhesitatingly  followed  up  through  mediaeval, 
classical,  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  remains,  to  the  very  threshold 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


W 


of  that  prehistoric  dawn  which  forms  the  transitional  stage 
between  geological  and  historical  epochs.  A  significant  fact, 
in  its  bearing  on  the  recent  disclosures  of  the  river  drift  in 
France  and  England,  is  that  some  of  the  most  characteristic 
flint  implements,  such  as  a  large  spear  head  found  along  with 
the  remains  of  a  fossil  elephant  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  London, 
and  implements  of  the  same  type  obtained  from  the  drift  of 
the  Waveney  Valley,  in  Surrey,  underlying  similar  fossil 
remains,  had  been  brought  under  the  notice  of  archaeologists 
upwards  of  a  century  before  the  idea  of  the  contemporaneous 
existence  of  man  and  the  mammals  of  the  Drift  found  any 
favour;  and  they  were  unhesitatingly  assigned  to  a  Celtic 
origin.  The  tirst  known  discovery  of  any  flint  implement  in 
the  quaternary  gravels  of  Europe  is  the  one  already  noted 
which  stands  recorded  in  the  Sloane  catalogue  as  "A  British 
weapon  found,  with  elephant's  tooth,  opposite  to  black  Mary's, 
near  Grayes  Inn  Lane." 

A  just  conception  of  the  comprehensiveness  even  of 
historical  antiquity  was  long  retarded  in  Europe  by  an 
exclusive  demotion  to  classical  studies;  but  the  relations  of 
America  to  the  Old  World  are  so  recent,  and  all  else  is  so 
nearly  a  blank,  that  for  it  the  fifteenth  century  is  the  historic 
dawn,  and  everything  dating  before  the  landing  of  Columbus 
has  been  habitually  assigned  to  the  same  vague  antiquity. 
Hence  historical  research  has  been  occupied  for  the  most  part 
on  very  modern  remains,  and  the  supreme  triumph  long  aimed 
at  has  been  to  associate  the  hieroglyphics  of  Central  America, 
and  the  architectural  monuments  of  Peru,  with  those  of  Egypt. 
But  we  have  entered  on  a  new  era  of  archaeological  and 
historical  inquiry.  The  palaeolithic  implements  of  the  French 
Drift  have  only  been  brought  to  light  in  our  own  day ;  and, 
though  upwards  of  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the 
researches  of  Mr.  J.  MacEnery  were  rewarded  by  the  dis- 
covery of  flint  implements  of  the  earliest  type  in  the  same 
red  loam  of  the  Devonshire  limestone  caves  which  embedded 
bones  of  the  mammoth,  tichorhine  rhinoceros,  cave-bear  and 
other  extinct  mammals,  it  is  only  recently  that  the  full 
significance  of  such  disclosures  has  been  recognised. 

America  was  indeed  little  behind  Europe  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  cavern  research.     A  cabinet  of  the  British  Museum 


■  ■■  'i 

J  (4: 


148 


PRE- A  RYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


ivi«.--.''  ■ 


w 


J  ._ 

V 


}  'H 


ii;- 


I.    ! 


fW, 


is  filled  with  fossil   bones   obtained  by   Dr.   Lund    and  M. 
Claussen  from   limestone   caverns  in  Brazil,   embedded  in  a 
reddish-coloured  loam,  under  a  thick  stalagmitic  flooring,  and 
including,  along  with  remains  of  genera  still  inhabiting  the 
American  continent,  those  of  extinct  monkeys.     Human  bones 
were  also  found  in  the  same  caves,  but  superficially,   and 
seemingly  of  the  precent  Indian  race.     But  a  fresh  interest 
and  significance  have  been  given  to  such  researches  by  the 
novel    aspect    of    prehistoric    archteology    in    Europe.       The 
relations    now    established    between    the    earliest    traces    of 
European  man  and  the  geological  aspects  of  the  great  Drift 
formation,  have  naturally  led  to  the  diligent  examination  of 
corresponding  deposits  of  the  continent  of  America,  in  the  hope 
of  recovering  similar  traces  there.     Until  recently,  however, 
any  supposed  examples  of  American  palaeolithic  art  have  been 
isolated  and  unsatisfactory.     Colonel  Charles  C.  Jones,  in  his 
Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  notes  the  discovery  in  the 
Nacoochee  valley,  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  of  flint  implements 
from  the  gravel  and  boulders  of  the  drift,  and  in  material, 
manner  of  construction,  and  appearance  closely  resembling  the 
rough  hatchets  belonging  to  the  Drift  type.     Other  more  or 
less  trustworthy  examples  of  a  like  kind  have  been  reported ; 
among  which  may   be  noted  a  large  specimen,  now  in  the 
collection  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  found  at 
Lewiston,  in  the  State  of  Nev    York,  at  a  great  depth,  when 
sinking  a  well.     Implements  of  neolithic  character,  and  even 
of  modern  type,  have  been  produced,  not  only  from  Kanzas 
and  California  gold-diggings,  but  from  the  volcanic  tufa  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  overlaid   by  repeated  volcanic  deposits.     In  a 
terrace   of  modified   drift,   near  Little    Falls,   Minnesota,  an 
accumulation  of  quartz  chips  have  been  found;  the  supposed 
refuse  of  an   ancient   workshop.     More  definitely,  Professor 
Aughey  reports  the  discovery  of  rudely  chipped  flint  arrow- 
heads in  the  loess  of  the  Missouri  valley,  beneath  the  bones 
of  the  mastodon ;  and  the  loess  gravels  of  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
belonging  unquestionably  to  the   last  glacial  age,  have  dis- 
closed what  seem  to  be  genuine  palseoliths,  pointing  to  the 
presence  of  the  rational  tool-maker  during  the  close  of  the 
quaternary  epoch  of  the  North  American  continent. 

Some  of  those  assumed  illustrations  of  American  palseolithic 


P RE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


149 


art  cannot  be  accepted.     One  implement,  for  example,  from 
the  Californian  gravel  drift,  is  a  polished  stone  plummet  per- 
forated at  one  end,  and  not  only  modern  in  character,  but  as 
a  genuine  discovery  in  the  gold-bearing  gravels,  tending  to 
discredit  the  palaeolithic  origin  assigned  to  ruder  implements 
found  under  similar  circumstances.     But  the  most  startling 
examples  of  this  class  are  of  minor  importance  Vhen  compared 
with  rejjorted  discoveries  of  human  remains  in  the  Californian 
drift.     In  1857,  Dr.  C.  F.  Winslow  produced  a  fragment  of 
a  human  skull  found  eighteen  feet  below  tlio  surface  in  the 
"pay  drift"  at  Table  Mountain,  associated  with  remains  of 
the   mastodon  and  fossil   elephant.     From    V>eds    underlying 
the  lava  and  volcanic  tufa  of  California,  from  time  to  time 
other   evidences    of   the   assumed    ancient  presence  of   man 
and  traces  of  his  art  are  produced.     But  the  manifestly  recent 
character  of  some  of  the  latter  prove  the  disturbance  of  these 
deposits  by  subsequent  influences.     In  1869  Professor  J,  D. 
Whitney  exhibited,  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  a  complete  human 
skull,  recovered  at  a  depth  of  130  feet  in  the  auriferous  gravel 
of  Calaveras  County,  Califortiia,  underlying  five  successive  beds 
of  lava  and   volcanic  tufa,  and    vouched    for   its  geological 
antiquity.     The    gravel   which    adhered    to  the    relic    found 
imbedded  in  it  is  referred  by  him  to  the  Pliocene  age ;  and 
Dr.  J.  W.  Foster  remarks  of  it,  in  his  Prehistoric  Baces  of  the 
United    States :     "  This    skull,    admitting     its    authenticity, 
carries  back  the  advent  of  man  to  the  Plioceue  epoch,  and  is 
therefore  older  than  the  stone  implements  of  the  drift  gravel  of 
Abbeville  and  Amiens,  or  the  relics  furnished  by  the  cave-dirt 
of  Belgium  and  France."     In  reality,  however,  the  authenticity 
of  the  skull  as  a  pliocene  relic  cannot  be  admitted.     Like 
that  of  Guadaloupe,  those  '  and  by  Dr.  Lund  in  the  Brazil 
caves,  and  other  fossil  skulls  of  the  American  continent,  it 
proved,  according  to  the  trustworthy  report  of  Dr.  Wyman,  to 
be  of  the  ordinary  Indian  type ;  though  to  some  minds  that 
only  confirms  the  genuineness  of  the  discovery.     A  human 
skull   recovered  from  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi  at   New 
Orleans,  and  estimated  by  Dr.  Dowler — on  what,  "  to  avoid  aU 
cavil,"  he  claimed  to  be  extremely  moderate  assumptions, — as 
not  less  than  57,000  years  old,  is  grouped  with  others  found 


?r 


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■.si  !■•      ' 


J«      ••! 


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•"'^j 

W- 

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I 


ifti 


■f'' 


150 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


by  Dr.  Lund  in  one  of  the  Brazil  caves,  at  Logoa  Santa,  and 
thus  commented  on  :  "  Numerous  species  of  animals  have  been 
blotted  from  creation  since  American  humanity's  first  appear- 
ance. The  form  of  these  crania,  moreover,  proves  that  the 
general  type  of  races  inhabiting  America  at  that  inconceivably 
remote  era  was  the  same  which  prevailed  at  the  Columbian 
discovery  ; "  ^  and  so  the  authors  of  Tyyes  of  Mankind  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  with  such  evidence  of  the  native 
American  type  having  occupied  the  continent  in  geological 
times,  before  the  formation  of  the  Mississippi  alluvia,  science 
may  spare  itself  the  trouble  of  looking  elsewhere  for  the  origin 
of  the  American  race !  The  high  authority  of  Professor 
Agassiz  was  adduced  at  the  time  in  support  of  this  and  other 
equally  crude  assumptions  ;  but  they  have  ceased  to  receive 
the  countenance  of  men  of  science. 

Meanwhile  the  progress  of  European  discovery  has  familiar- 
ised us  with  the  idea  of  the  rude  primeval  race  of  its  Palseolithic 
era,  so  designated  in  reference  to  their  characteristic  implements 
recovered  from  the  river  drift  of  France  and  England,  and  from 
the  sedimentary  accumulations  of  their  rock  shelters  and  lime- 
stone caves.  That  flint  and  stone  implements  of  every  variety 
of  form  abound  in  the  soil  of  the  New  World,  has  been 
established  by  ample  proof;  and  if  mere  rudeness  could  be 
accepted  as  evidence  of  antiquity,  many  of  them  rival  in  this 
respect  the  rudest  implem'^its  of  the  European  drift.  But  it 
has  to  be  kept  in  view  tlit.t  the  indigenous  tribes  of  America 
have  scarcely  even  now  abandoned  the  manufacture  of  imple- 
ments of  obsidian,  flint,  and  stone,  or  of  bone  and  ivory.  So 
striking,  indeed,  is  the  analogy  between  the  simple  arts  of 
the  palseolithic  cave-men  of  Southern  France,  and  those  stDl 
practised  by  the  Eskimo,  that  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  in- 
ferred from  this  conclusive  evidence  of  a  pedigree  for  the  Arctic 
aborigines  little  less  ancient  than  that  which  Dr.  Dowler  long 
ago  deduced  from  his  discovery  in  the  delta  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  implements  and  accumulated  debris  of  the  ancient  hunters 
of  the  Garonne,  the  contemporaries  of  the  mammoth  and  other 
extinct  mammals,  and  of  the  reindeer,  musk-sheep,  cave-bear, 
and  other  species  known  only  within  the  historic  period  in 
extreme  northern  latitudes,  undoubtedly  suggest  interesting 

*  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  351. 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


IS> 


analogies  with  the  niodern  Eskimo.  Only  under  similar  climatic 
conditions  to  those  in  which  they  now  live,  could  such  ac- 
cumulations of  animal  remains  as  have  been  found  in  the  caves 
of  the  valley  of  the  Ves6re  bo  possible  in  places  habitually 
resorted  to  by  man.  But  such  analogies  form  a  very  slender 
basis  on  which  to  found  the  hypothesis  that  the  race  of  the 
Mammoth  and  Reindeer  period  in  the  remote  I'ost-Pliocene  era 
of  Southern  France  has  its  living  representatives  within  the 
Arctic  circle  of  the  American  continent. 

The  students  of  modern  archteology  have  become  familiar 
with  startling  disclosures ;  and  the  supposed  identification  of 
living  representatives  of  the  race  of  the  pleistocene  river  beds 
or  cave  deposits  is  too  fascinating  a  one  to  be  readily  abandoned 
by  its  originator.  The  men  of  the  Kiver-Drift  era  are  assumed 
to  have  been  a  race  of  still  older  and  ruder  savages  than  the 
palajolithic  cave-men,  who  were  more  restricted  in  their  range, 
and  considerably  in  advance  of  them  in  the  variety  and 
workmanship  of  their  weapons  and  implements.  The  elder 
ruder  race  has  vanished ;  but  the  cave-race  of  that  indefinite 
but  vastly  remote  era  of  pliocene,  or  post-pliocene  Europe, 
is  imagined  to  still  survive  within  the  Arctic  frontiers  of 
Canada. 

In  discussing  the  plausible  hypothesis  which  thus  aims 
at  recovering  in  the  hyperboreans  of  America  the  race  that 
before  the  close  of  Europe's  Pleistocene  age,  hunted  the 
mammoth,  the  musk-sheep,  and  the  reindeer  in  the  valleys  of 
the  Garonne,  Professor  Dawkins  reviewed  the  manners  and 
habits  of  the  Eskimo  as  a  race  of  hunters,  fishers,  and  fowlers, 
accumulating  round  their  dwellings  vast  refuse  heaps  similar 
to  those  of  the  ancient  cave-men.  Both  were  ignorant  of  the 
metallurgic  arts,  were  excluded  to  a  large  extent  by  a  like 
rigorous  climate  from  access  to  stone  or  flint;  while  they 
habitually  turned  to  account  the  available  material,  resulting 
from  the  spoils  of  the  chase :  bone,  ivory,  and  deer's  horn,  in 
the  manufacture  of  all  needful  tools.  The  implements  and 
weapons  thus  common  to  both  do  unquestionably  prove  that 
their  manner  of  life  was  in  many  respects  similar.  Professor 
Dawkins  also  notes,  what  can  scarcely  seem  surprising  in  any 
people  familiar  with  the  working  in  bone,  namely,  the  use  at  times 
by  the  Eskimo  of  fossil  mammoth  ivory  for  the  handles  of  their 


'X' 


I 


ib'-:'" 


m 


152 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


U       '■      ' . 


stone  scrapers,  and  adds  :  "  It  is  very  possible  that  this  habit 
of  the  Eskimos  may  have  been  handed  down  from  the  late 
pleistocene  times."  But  what  strikes  him  as  "  the  most 
astonishing  bond  of  union  between  the  cave-men  and  the 
Eskimo  is  the  art  of  representing  animals  " ;  and,  after  noting 
those  familiar  to  both,  along  with  the  correspondence  in  their 
weapons,  and  habits  as  hunters,  he  says  :  "  All  these  points  of 
connection  between  the  cave-men  and  the  Eskimos  can,  in  my 
opinion,  be  explained  only  on  the  hypothesis  that  they  belong 
to  the  same  race."  ^ 

As  to  the  ingenious  imitative  art  of  the  Cro-Magnon  cave- 
dwellers,  it  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to  them  and  the  modern 
Eskimo ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  common  to  many  savage 
races ;  though  by  no  modern  savage  people  has  a  like  degree  of 
artistic  ability  been  shown.  Professor  Dawkins  says  truly  of 
the  cave-man :  "  He  possessed  a  singular  talent  for  representing 
the  animals  he  hunted ;  and  his  sketches  reveal  to  us  that  he 
had  a  capacity  for  seeing  the  beauty  and  grace  of  natural  form 
not  much  inferior  to  that  which  is  the  result  of  long-continued 
civilisation  in  ourselves,  and  very  much  higher  than  that  of  his 
successors  in  Europe  in  the  Neolithic  age.  The  hunter  who 
was  both  artist  and  sculptor,  who  reproduced,  with  his  im- 
perfect means,  at  one  time  foliage,  at  another  the  quiet  repose 
of  a  reindeer  feeding,  has  left  behind  him  the  proof  of  a  decided 
advance  in  culture,  such  as  might  be  expected  to  result  from 
the  long  continuancv^  of  man  on  the  earth  in  the  hunter  state 
of  civilisation."  ^  AI\  this  is  correct  in  reference  to  the  art  of 
the  Vdz6re  carvers  arid  draughtsmen ;  but  it  would  be  gross 
exaggeration  if  applied  to  such  conventional  art  as  the  Eskimo 
arrow-straightener  which  Professor  Dawkins  figures,  with  its 
formal  row  of  reindeer  and  their  grotesque  accessories.  The 
same  criticism  is  equally  applicable  to  numerous  other 
specimens  of  Eskimo  art,  and  to  similar  Innuit,  or  western 
Eskimo  representations  of  hunting  scenes,  such  as  those  figured 
by  Mr.  William  H.  Dall,  in  his  Alaska,  which  he  describes  as 
"  drawings  analogous  to  those  discovered  in  France  in  the  caves 
of  Dordogne."  ^ 

The  identity,  or  near  resemblance  between  harpoons,  fowl- 

*  Early  Man  in  Britain,  p.  241.  "  Ibid,  ]}.  244. 

8  Alaska  and  its  Eesources,  p.  237. 


lili^''"'^  ' 


v^r 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


151 


ing  spears,  niarrow  spoons,  and  scrapers,  of  the  ancient  cave- 
race  of  pleistocane  France,  and  implements  of  the  modern 
Eskimo,  is  full  of  interest ;  as  is  much  also  of  a  like  kind 
between  savage  races  of  our  own  day  in  the  most  widely 
severed  regions  of  the  globe  ;  but  it  is  a  slender  basis  on  v^hich 
to  found  such  far-reaching  deductions.  The  old  race  tl\at  lived 
on  the  verge  of  the  great  glaciers  in  Southern  France  gave  the 
preference  to  bone  and  ivory  over  flint  or  stone,  because  the 
climatic  conditions  under  which  fchey  lived  rendered  those 
most  accessible  to  them  ;  and  we  see  in  the  familiar  typey  of 
flint  arrow  heads,  stone  hammers,  and  the  like  primitive  tools 
of  savage  man,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  how 
naturally  the  workman,  with  the  same  materials  and  siruilar 
necessities,  shapes  his  few  and  simple  weapons  and  imple- 
ments into  like  form.  As  to  the  absence  of  pottery,  alike 
among  the  ancient  cave-dwellers  and  the  modern  Eslcimo, 
in  which  another  element  of  resemblance  is  traced,  it  proves 
no  more  than  that  both  had  to  work  under  climatic  con- 
ditions which  rendered  clay,  adequate  fuel,  and  nearly  all 
other  appliances  of  the  potter,  even  less  available  than  flint 
and  stone. 

But  the  caves  of  th6  V«jz^.Te  have  furnished  examples  not  only 
of  skulls,  but  of  complete  skeletons  of  an  ancient  race  of  cave- 
dwellers,  whether  that  of  the  ingenious  draughtsmen  and  rein- 
deer hunters  or  not ;  and  had  those,  or  the  uuderiying  debris, 
yielded  traces  of  the  Eskimo  type  of  head,  there  would  then  be 
good  reason  for  attaching  an  exceptional  value  to  any  evidence 
of  correspondence  in  arts  and  habits.  But  the  cerebral 
capacity  of  this  Cro-Magnon  race  amply  accords  with  the 
artistic  skill,  and  the  sense  of  beauty  and  grace  of  natural  form, 
ascribed  to  tlte  ancient  draughtsmen  ;  and  their  well-devel- 
oped skulls  and  large  bones  present  the  most  striking  contrast 
to  the  stunted  Eskimo.  The  strongly  marked  physiognomy  of 
the  former  bears  no  resemblance  to  the  debased  Mongolian  type 
of  the  latter.  No  doubt  it  may  be  argued  with  sufficient  plau- 
sibility that  in  the  slow  retreat  of  the  palajolithic  race,  whether 
eastward  by  the  river  valleys  of  Euiope,  and  across  the  steppes 
of  Asia,  to  Behring  Strait ;  or  over  submerging  continents,  since 
engulfed  in  the  ocean  ;  and  in  the  vast  seons  of  their  retreai 
to  their  latest  home  in  another  hemisphere,  on  the  verge  of  the 


'11 


/;K' 


;tt,»i; 


If 

;  ;',■'» 


P-^ 


,t"L.^- 


.'.  ■  * 


154 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


pole,  any  amount  of  change  may  have  modified  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  race.  But  if  so,  the  evidence  of  their 
pedigree  is  no  longer  producible.  The  Eskimo  may  be  related 
by  descent  to  the  men  of  the  French  Reindeer  period,  as  we 
ourselves  may  be  descendants  of  palaeolithic  man ;  but,  as  Pro- 
fessor Geikie  has  justly  remarked  :  "  When  anthropologists 
produce  from  some  of  the  caves  occupied  by  the  reindeer 
hunters  a  cranium  resembling  that  of  the  living  Eskimo,  it  will 
be  time  enough  to  admit  that  the  latter  has  descended  from  the 
former.  But,  unfortunately  for  the  view  here  referred  to,  none 
of  the  skulls  hitherto  found  affords  it  any  support."^  In 
truth,  the  plausible  fancy  that  the  discoveries  of  the  last 
twenty-five  years  have  tended  to  confirm  the  identification  of 
the  cave-men  with  the  Eskimo,  only  requires  the  full  apprecia- 
tion of  all  that  it  involves,  in  order  that  it  shall  take  its  place 
with  that  other  identification  with  the  red  man  of  the  present 
day  of  "  Dr.  Dowler's  sub-cypress  Indian  who  dwelt  on  the 
site  of  New  Orleans  57,000  years  ago." 

The  received  interpretation  of  the  imperfect  record  which 
remains  to  us  of  the  successive  eras  of  geological  change  with 
the  accompanying  modifications  of  animal  life,  down  to  the 
appearance  of  man,  and  the  deciphering  of  geological 
chroniclings  as  a  coherent  disclosure  of  the  past  history  of  the 
earth,  are  largely  due  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell.  In  1841  he 
visited  America,  and  then  estimated  with  cautious  conservatism 
some  of  the  evidences  adduced  for  the  assumed  antiquity  of 
American  man.  But  subsequent  observations  led  him  to 
modify  his  views  ;  and  at  length,  in  1863,  he  "read  his  recan- 
tation "  of  earlier  opinions  ;  and — so  far  at  least  as  Europe  is 
concerned, — gave  the  full  weight  of  his  authority  to  the  con- 
clusions relative  to  the  antiquity  of  man  based  on  the  discovery 
of  flint  implements  associated  with  bones  of  extinct  mammalia 
at  Abbeville  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Thames.  The  peculiar 
geological  conditions  accompanying  the  earliest  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  palaeolithic  man  in  Europe  proved,  when  rightly 
interpreted,  to  be  no  less  convincing  than  the  long-familiar 
sequence  of  more  recen*"  archaeological  indices  by  which  anti- 
quarian speculation  has  pro^-eeded  step  by  step  back  towards 
that  prehistoric  dawn  in  which  geology  and  archaeology  meet 

*  Prehistoric  Europe,  p.  550. 


IS-:''';,  ji;    "- 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


i$5 


on  common  ground.  The  chalk  and  the  overlying  river-drift, 
abounding  with  flint  nodules,  left  no  room  for  question  as  to 
the  source  of  the  raw  material  from  which  the  primitive  imple- 
ments were  manufactured.  The  flint  is  still  abundant  as  ever, 
in  nodules  of  a  size  amply  sufficient  for  furnishing  the  largest 
palseoliths,  in  the  localities  both  of  France  and  England 
where  such  specimens  of  primitive  art  have  been  recovered 
by  thousands.  But  there  also  other  disclosures  tell  no  less 
conclusively  of  many  subsequent  stages  of  progress,  alike  in 
prehiatoric  and  historic  times. 

Sir  John  Evans,  in  his  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great 
Britain,  purposely  begins  with  the  more  recent  implements, 
including  those  of  the  Australian  and  other  modern  savage 
races,  and  traces  his  way  backward,  "ascending  the  stream  of 
time,"  and  noting  the  diverse  examples  of  ingeniously  fashioned 
and  polished  tools  of  the  Neolithic  age  which  preceded  that 
palseolithic  class,  of  vast  antiquity  and  rudest  workmanship, 
which  now  constitute  the  earliest  known  works  of  man  ;  if  they 
are  not,  indeed,  examples  of  the  first  infantile  efforts  of  human 
skill.  But  alike  in  Britain,  and  on  the  neighbouriug  continent, 
a  chronological  sequence  of  implements  in  stone  and  metal, 
with  pottery,  personal  ornaments,  and  other  illustrations  of  pro- 
gressive art,  supplies  the  evidence  by  means  of  which  we  are 
led  backward — not  without  some  prolonged  interruptions,  as 
we  approach  the  Palaeolithic  age, — from  historic  to  the  remotest 
prehistoric  times. 

The  relative  tJironology  of  the  European  drift  may  be  thus 
stated :  first,  and  most  n  dern,  the  superficial  deposits  of 
recent  centui  s  with  their  mediaeval  traces  of  Frank  and  Gaul ; 
and  along  with  liose,  the  tombs,  the  pottery,  and  other  remains 
of  the  Eoman  )eriod,  scarcely  perceptibly  affected  in  their 
geological  relatioi  by  nearly  the  whole  interval  of  the  Chris- 
tian era ;  next,  a\  the  alluvium,  seemingly  embedded  by 
natural  accumulation  at  an  average  depth  of  fifteen  feet,  occur 
remains  of  a  European  Stone  period,  corresponding  in  many 
respects  to  those  of  the  pfahlbauten,  or  pile  villages  of  the 
Swiss  Lakes ;  and,  underlying  such  accumulations  exceeding 
in  their  duration  the  whole  historical  period,  we  come  at  length 
to  the  tool-bearing  drift,  imbedding,  along  with  the  fossil 
remains  of  many  extinct  mammals,  the  implements  of  palaeolithic 


m 

■i 


:-  M 


n. 


»■. 


ff:- 


r- 


4 


11 


til  ' 


]"' 


'    « 


lit 


156 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


man,  fashioned  seemingly  when  the  rivers  were  only  beginning 
the  work  of  excavating  the  valleys  which  give  their  present 
contour  to  the  landscapes  of  France  and  England. 

There,  as  elsewhere,  we  recognise  progression  from  the  most 

artless  rudeness  of  tool  manufacture,  belonging  to  an  epoch 

when  the  process  of  grinding  flint  or  stone  to  an  edge  appears 

to  have  been  unknown ;  through  various  stages  of  the  primitive 

worker  in  stone,  bone,  ivory,  and  the  like  natural  products ; 

and    then    the    discovery    and    gradual    development    of  the 

metallurgic  arts.     Yet  at  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  lost 

sight  of  that  mere  rudeness  of  workmanship  is  no  evidence  of 

antiquity.      Nothing  can  well  be  conceived  of  more  artless 

than  some  of  the  stone  implements  still  in  use  among  savage 

tribes  of  America.     Moreover,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  is  not 

amid  the  privations  of  an  Arctic  winter,  with  its  analogies  so 

suggestive  of  a  condition  of  life  corresponding  to  that  of  the 

men  of  Europe's  Pal£eolithic   age,  but  in  southern  latitudes, 

with  a  climate  which  furnishes  abundant  resources  for  savage 

man,  that  the  crudest  efforts  at  tool-making  now  occur.     In  a 

report    of    the    United    States    Geological    Survey    for    18V  2, 

Professor  Joseph  Leidy  furnishes  an  interesting  account  of 

numerous  implements,  rude  as  any  in  the  Drift,  observed  by 

him  while  engaged  on  a  survey  at  the  base  of  the  Unitah 

Mountains   in   Southern  Wyoming.      "  In  some   places,"  he 

remarks,  "  the  stone  implements  are  so  numerous,  and  at  the 

same  time  are  so  rudely  constructed,  that  one  is  constantly  in 

doubt  when  to   consider  them  as  natural  or  accidental,  and 

when  to  view  them  as  artificial."  ^     But  with  these,  others  are 

mingled  of  fine  finish.     The  Shoshones  who  haunt  the  region 

seem  to  be  incapable  of  such  skill  as  the  latter  imply ;  and 

express  the  belief  that  they  were  a  gift  of  the  Great  Spirit  to 

their  ancestors.     Yet  many  are  fresh  in  appearance ;  though 

others  are  worn  and  decomposed  on  the  surface,  and  may,  as 

Professor  Leidy  assumes,  have  lain  there  for  centuries.     The 

tendency  is  now,  even  among  experienced  archaeologists,  to 

assume    that    they    are    actually    palaeolithic.       Mr.    Thomas 

Wilson  remarks,  in  his  Report  of  1887:  "Dr.  Leidy  did  not 

know  these  implements  to  be  what  they  really  were,  that  is 


^  U.S.  Geological  Survey,  1872,  p.  652. 
p.  683,  Fig.  11535. 


Repoi't  of  National  Musemn,  1887, 


\i    '; 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


157 


In  a 
18V2, 
^unt   of 
■ved  by 
Unitah 
IS,"  he 
at  the 
[ntly  in 
,1,  and 
lers  are 
region 
and 
lirit  to 
though 
ay,  as 
The 
ists,  to 
'homas 
lid  not 
Ithat  is 


implements  of  the  Palaeolithic  period."  ^     But  in  view  of  Dr. 
Leidy's  whole  narrative,  his  assumption  seems  to  be  more  con- 
sistent with  the  observed  data.      In  the  same  narrative  he 
describes  a  stone  scraper,  or  teslioa,  as  the  Shoshones  call  it, 
employed  by  them  in  the  dressing  of  buffalo  skins,  but  of  so 
simple  a  character  that  he  says,  "had  I  not  observed  it  in 
actual  use,  and  had  noticed  it   among  the  materials  of  the 
buttes,  or  horizontal  strata  of  indurated  clays  and  sandstone, 
I  would  have  viewed  it   as   an  accidental  spawl."      When 
illustrating  the  characteristics  of  a  like  class  of  stone  imple- 
ments and  weapons  of  Great  Britain,  Sir  John  Evans  figures  and 
describes  an  axe,  or  war-club,  procured  from  the  Indians  of 
Rio  Frio  in  Texas.     Its  blade  is  a  piece  of  trachyte,  so  rudely 
chipped  that  it  would  scarcely  attract  attention  as  of  artificial 
working,  but  for  the  club-like  haft,  evidently  chopped  into 
shape  with  stone  tools,  into  which  it  is  inserted.      Nothing 
ruder  has  been  brought  to  light  in  any  drift  or  cave  deposit.  ^ 
Another  modern  Texas   implement,  in   the  Smithonnia   col- 
lections at   Washington,  3  is    a   rudely -fashioned   flint   blade, 
presenting  considerable  resemblance  to  a  familiar  class  of  oval 
implements  of  the  river  drift. 

So  far,  therefore,  as  unskilled  art  and  the  mere  rudeness  of 
workmanship  are  concerned,  it  might  be  assumed  that  the 
aborigines  of  America  are  thus  presented  to  our  study  in  their 
most  primitive  stage.  They  had  advanced  in  no  degree  beyond 
the  condition  of  the  European  savage  of  the  River-Drift  period, 
when,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  they  were  brought 
into  contact  with  modern  European  culture ;  and  nothing  in 
their  rude  arts  seemed  to  offer  a  clue  to  their  origin,  or  any 
evidence  of  progression.  So  far  as  anything  could  be  learned 
from  their  work,  they  might  have  entered  on  the  occupation 
of  the  northern  continent,  subsequent  to  the  visits  of  the 
Northmen  in  the  tenth  century;  and,  indeed,  American 
archaeologists  generally  favour  the  opinion  that  the  Skrcclings, 
as  the  Northmen  designated  the  New  England  natives  whom 
they  encountered,  were  not  Red  Indians  but  Eskimo.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  the  local  distribution  of  races  at  that 

^  Report  of  National  Museuvi,  1887,  p.  678. 

*  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great  Britain,  p.  140. 

'  Vide  Prehistoric  Man,  3d  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  180,  Fig.  64. 


I 


158 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


date,  geological  evidence,  which  has  proved  so  conclusive  in 
relation  to  European  ethnology,  has  at  length  been  appealed  to 
by  American  investigators,  with  results  which  seem  to  establish 
for  their  continent  also  its  primeval  Stone  period,  and  remote 
prehistoric  dawn. 

The  Report  of  the  Pedbody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology 
and  Ethnology  for  1877,  gave  the  first  publicity  to  a  communi- 
cation from  Dr.  Charles  C.  Abbott,  setting  forth  the  data  from 
which  he  was  led  to  assume  that  man  existed  on  the  American 
continent  during  the  formation  of  the  great  glacial  deposit 
which  extends  from  Labrador  as  far  south  as  Virginia.  The 
scene  of  his  successful  research  is  in  the  valley  of  the  Delaware, 
near  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  Though  the  relative  antiquity  of 
the  Trenton  gravel  beds  is  modern  compared  with  some  sub- 
sequent disclosures,  his  discoveries  have  a  special  interest  as 
foremost  among  those  of  implement -bearing  gravels  in  the 
New  World.  In  the  gravel,  deposited  by  the  Delaware  river 
in  the  process  of  excavating  the  valley  through  which  its 
course  now  lies.  Dr.  Abbott's  diligent  search  has  been  rewarded 
by  finding  numerous  specimens  of  rudely  chipped  implements 
of  a  peculiar  type,  to  which  he  has  given  the  name  of  "  turtle- 
back  celts."  They  are  fashioned  of  a  highly  indurated  argillite, 
with  a  conchoidal  fracture,  and  I.  .ve  been  recovered  at  depths 
varying  from  five  to  upwards  of  twenty  feet  below  the  over- 
lying soil,  in  the  undisturbed  gravel  of  the  blufif  facing  the 
Delaware  river,  as  well  as  in  railway  cuttings  and  other 
excavations. 

Here,  to  all  appearance,  intelligent  research  had  at  length 
been  rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  undoubted  traces  of  the 
American  palaeolithic  man ;  and  Dr.  Abbott,  not  unnaturally, 
gave  free  scope  to  his  fancy,  as  he  realised  to  himself  the  pre- 
occupation of  the  river  valley  with  "  the  village  sites  of  pre- 
glacial  man."  There  is  a  fascination  in  such  disclosures  whicli, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  original  discoverer,  tempts  to 
extreme  views  ;  and  both  in  France  and  England,  at  the  present 
time,  the  more  eager  among  the  geologists  and  archaeologists 
devoted  to  this  inquiry  are  reluctantly  restrained  from  assum- 
ing as  a  scientific  fact  the  existence  of  man  in  Southern 
England  and  in  France  under  more  genial  climatic  influences, 
prior  to  the  great  Ice    age  which  wrought  such  enormous 


h    i 


.i 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


159 


changes  there.     The  theory  which  Dr.  Abbott  formed  on  the 
basis  of  the  evidence  first  presented  to  him  by  the  disclosures 
of  the  Trenton  gravel  may  be  thus  stated.     Towards  the  close 
of  the  great  Ice  age,  the  locality  which  has  rewarded  his  search 
for  specimens  of  palaeolithic  art  marked  the  termination  of  the 
glacier  on  the  Atlantic  coast.     Here,  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier, 
a  primitive  people,  in  a  condition  closely  analogous  to  that 
of  the  Eskimo  of  the  present  day,  made  their  home,  and 
wandered    over   the    open    sea   in    the   vicinity,  during   the 
accumulation  of  the  deposit  from  the  melting  glacier.     But 
this  drift  gravel  was  modified  by  subsequent  action.     Accord- 
ing to  Dr.   Abbott's   conclusions,  it  was  deposited   in   open 
water,  on  the  bed  of  a  shallow  sea.     But  the  position  of  the 
large  boulders,  and  the  absence  of  true  clay  in  the  mass,  sug- 
gest that  it  has  undergone  great  changes  since  its  original 
deposition  as  glacial  debris ;  and  if  this  is  to  be  accounted  for 
by  subsequent  action  of  water,  the  unpolished  surfaces  of  the 
chipped  implements   are  inconsistent  with  such  a  theory  of 
their  origin.     Huge  boulders,  of  the  same  character  as  those 
which  abound  in  the  underlying  gravel,  occur  on  the  surface ; 
and  their  presence  there  was  referred  to  by  Dr.  Abbott  as 
throwing   light    upon   "the    occurrence    of    rude   implements 
identical  with  those  found  in  the  underlying  gravels,  inasmuch 
as  the  same  ice-raft  that  bore  the  one,  with  its  accompanying 
sand  and  gravel,  might  well  gather  up  also  stray  relics  of  this 
primitive  people,  and  re-deposit  them  where   they  are  now 
found."     Accordingly,  seeking  in  fancy  to  recall  this  ancient 
past,  he  says  in  his   first  report :    "  In  times  preceding  the 
formation  of  this  gravel  bed,  now  in  part  facing  the  Delaware 
river,  there  were  doubtless  localities,  once  the  village  sites  of  pre- 
glacial  man,  where  these  rude  stoue  implements  would  neces- 
sarily be  abundant,"  and  he  accordingly  asks  "  May  not  the  ice 
in  its  onward  march,  gathering  in  bulk  every  loose  fragment 
of  rock  and  particle  of  soil,  have  held  them  loosely  together, 
and,  hundreds  of  miles  from  their  original  site,  left  them  in 
some  one  locality  such   as'  this,  where   the   river  has  again 
brought  to  light  rude  implements  that  characterise  an  almost 
primitive  people  ?     But,  assuming  that  the  various  implements 
fashioned  by  a  strictly  pre-glacial  people  have  been  totally 
destroyed  by  the  crushing  forces  of  the  glacier,  and  that  the 


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specimens  now  produced  were  not  brought  from  a  distance, 
may  they  not  be  referred  to  an  early  race  that,  driven  southward 
by  the  encroaching  ice,  dwelt  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier,  and 
during  their  sojourn  here  these  implements  were  lost  ? "  ^ 

The  opinions  thus  set  forth  in  the  first  published  account 
of  Dr.  Abbott's  discoveries,  have  since  been  considerably 
modified,  in  so  far  as  the  geological  age  of  the  tool-bearing 
gravel  of  the  Delaware  valley  is  concerned.  In  his  earlier 
publications  he  assumed,  as  no  longer  questionable,  the  exist- 
ence of  inter-glacial,  if  not  pre-glacial,  man  on  the  continent. 
In  his  more  matured  views,  as  set  forth  in  his  Primitive 
Indmtry,  he  speaks  of  "  having  been  seriously  misled  by  the 
various  geological  reports  that  purport  to  give,  in  proper 
sequence,  the  respective  ages  of  the  several  strata  of  clay, 
gravel,  boulders,  and  sand,  through  which  the  river  has  finally 
worn  its  channel  to  the  ocean  level  ;"2  so  that  he  has  probably 
ascribed  too  great  an  antiquity  to  the  peculiar  class  of  stone 
implements  brought  to  light  in  the  river-gravels  of  New  Jersey. 
Dr.  Abbott,  accordingly,  states  as  his  more  matured  conclusion, 
confirmed  by  the  reports  of  some  of  the  most  experienced 
geological  observers,  on  whose  judgment  he  relies,  that  the 
Trenton  gravel,  in  which  alone  the  turtle-back  celts  have  thus 
far  been  found,  is  a  post-glacial  river  deposit,  made  at  a  time 
when  the  river  was  larger  than  at  present ;  and  is  the  most 
recent  of  all  the  formations  of  the  Delaware.^  Here,  however, 
the  term  "  recent "  is  employed  altogether  relatively ;  and 
although  Dr.  Abbott  no  longer  claims  in  the  discovery  of  the 
stone  implements!  of  the  gravel  beds  near  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  man  on  the  American  continent 
before  the  close  of  the  Glacial  period,  he  still  refers  the  Trenton 
gravel  tool-makers  to  an  era  which,  at  the  lowest  computation, 
precedes  by  thousands  of  years  the  earliest  historical  glimpses 
of  Assyria,  Egypt,  or  wherever  among  the  most  ancient  nations 
of  the  Old  World  the  beginnings  of  history  can  be  traced. 

The  disclosures  of  Dr.  Abbott  claim  a  special  importance 
among  the  fruits  of  archaeological  investigation  on  the  American 
continent,  not  only  from  the  fact  that  they  furnish  the  first 
well-authenticated  results  of  systematic  research  based  on  the 

^  Report  of  the  Peahody  Mnseum,  vol.  ii.  p.  38. 
"  Primitive  Industry,  p.  471.  ^  Jbid.  p.  542. 


PRE  ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


i6i 


■Si 


scientific  analogies  of  European  archaeology,  but  these  later 
results  have  included  the  remains  of  man  himself.  When  Dr. 
Usher  of  Mobile  contributed  to  The,  Types  of  Mankind  an 
account  of  the  discovery  of  a  human  skeleton  at  New  Orleans, 
found  under  circumstances  from  which  the  existence  of  man  in 
the  delta  of  the  Mississippi  was  deduced  well  nigh  sixty 
thousand  years  ago,  it  was  scarcely  calculated  to  win  the 
reader's  acceptance  of  that  assumption  when  it  was  added  that 
"  the  type  of  the  cranium  was,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
that  of  the  aboriginal  American  race."  Nor  is  this  the  only 
example  of  skull  of  a  strictly  modern  Indian  type  from  which 
the  inference  has  been  drawn  that  the  same  unchanging 
form  has  prevailed  from  the  era  of  pre-glacial  American  man 
till  now.  Three  human  crania  found  in  the  Trenton  gravel 
are  now  in  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Cambridge  (Harvard). 
All  are  of  the  same  type,  but  it  differs  essentially  from  that 
of  the  Eed  Indian  skull.  They  are  of  small  size,  oval,  and 
present  a  striking  contrast  to  all  other  skulls  in  the  Peabody 
collection.  Their  value  is  due  to  the  fact  of  their  discovery 
in  the  implement-bearing  gravel,  in  proximity  to  the  charac- 
teristic examples  of  what  are  assumed  to  be  palaeolithic  celts. 
For  it  is  well  for  us  to  bear  in  remembrance  that  the  evidences 
of  the  antiquity  of  man  in  Europe  do  not  rest  on  any  number 
of  chance  disclosures.  It  is  a  simple  procedure  to  dig  into  a 
Celtic  or  Saxon  barrow,  and  find  there  the  implements  and 
pottery  of  its  builders  lying  alongside  of  their  buried  remains. 
But  archaeologists  have  learned  to  recognise  the  palaeolithic 
implements  as  not  less  characteristic  of  certain  post-pliocene 
deposits  than  the  palaeontology  of  the  same  geological  formation. 
The  river-drift  and  cave  deposits  are  characterised  by  traces  of 
contemporaneous  life,  as  shown  in  the  examples  of  primitive 
art  from  which  they  receive  the  name  of  the  tool-bearing  drift 
or  gravel ;  just  as  older  geological  formations  have  their  char- 
acteristic animal  and  vegetable  fossUs.  The  specific  character 
of  the  tool-bearing  gravel  of  the  French  Drift  having  been 
determined,  geologists  and  archaeologists  have  sought  for  flint 
implements  in  corresponding  English  stvata,  as  they  would 
seek  for  the  fossils  of  the  same  period,  and  with  like  success. 
Palaeolithic  implements  have  been  recovered  in  this  manner  in 
Suffolk,  Bedford,  Hartford,  Kent,  Middlesex,  Surrey,  and  other 


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162 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


districts  in  the  soutli  of  England.  So  entirely  indeed  has  the 
man  of  the  Drift  passed  beyond  the  province  of  the  archa;- 
ologist,  that  in  1861  Professor  Prestwich  followed  up  his 
Notes  on  Further  Discoveries  of  Flint  Implements  in  Bech  of 
Post-Pleiocene  Gravel  and  Clay,  with  a  list  of  forty-one  localities 
where  gravel  and  clay  pits  or  gravel  beds  occur,  as  some  of 
the  places  in  the  south  of  England  where  he  thought  flint 
implements  might  also  by  diligent  search  possibly  be  found ; 
and  subsequent  discoveries  confirmed  his  anticipations.  It 
has  been  by  the  application  of  the  same  principle  to  the  drift 
and  river-valley  gravels  of  the  New  World  that  a  like  success 
has  been  achieved.  The  result  of  a  careful  study  of  the  tool- 
bearing  gravel  r)f  the  Delaware  may  be  thus  summarised  from 
recent  reports  of  trustworthy  scientific  observers.  The  Trenton 
gravel  is  a  post-glacial  river  deposit,  made  at  a  time  when  tlie 
river  was  larger  than  its  present  volume.  It  represents  ap- 
parently the  latest  of  the  surface  deposits  of  the  upper  Dela- 
ware valley ;  ^  and  Dr.  Abbott  remarks  of  it :  "  The  melting  of 
a  local  glacier  in  the  Oal  ill  Mountains  would  probably 
result,  at  the  head- waters  (jI  the  Delaware,  in  a  continued 
flood  of  sufficient  volume,  if  supplemented  by  the  action  of 
floating  ice,  to  form  the  Trenton  gravels."  ^  But  these  gravels 
are  now  recognised  as  the  youngest  of  the  series  of  ancient 
implement-bearing  deposits.  Underneath  lies  the  older  Col- 
umbiii  gravel,  which  has  also  yielded — though  in  much  fewer 
numbers, — palteoliths  of  primitive  types.  The  researches  of 
Mr.  Hilborne  T.  Cresson  in  the  State  of  Delaware  have  already 
been  referred  to ;  and  from  those  results,  as  well  as  from 
similar  disclosures  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  .t.  is  no  longer  doubted 
that  reliable  traces  have  been  recovered  of  American  man 
contemporary  with  the  mammoth  and  the  mastodon ;  and — 
like  the  old  cave-dwellers  of  Cro-Magnon, — a  hunter  of  the 
reindeer  in  the  valley  of  tlie  Delaware. 

American  archsoologists  have  undoubtedly  been  repeatedly 
deceived  by  the  misleading  traces  of  comparatively  modern 
remains  in  d '^posits  of  some  geological  antiquity;  as  in  in- 
stances already  referred  to  in  the  California  gravel  beds. 
In  these,  indeed,  ground  and  polished  instruments  of  stone, 
including    a    "  plummet "    of    highly    polished    syeuiLe,    "  an 

^  Primitive  Indtistry,  p.  547.  '  Ibid,  p.  646. 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


163 


exhibition  of  the  lapidary's  skill  superior  to  anytliing  yet  fur- 
nished by  the  Stone  age  of  either  continent," '  are  produced 
from  time  to  time  from  the  same  post  -  pliocene  formation 
whore  the  remains  of  tiie  elephant  and  mastodon  abound.  Dr. 
Abbott  did  not  overlook  the  danger  to  which  the  archeeologist 
is  thus  exposed  on  a  continent  which,  so  far  as  its  aborigines 
are  concerned,  has  scarcely  yet  emerged  from  its  Stone  age. 
He  accordingly  remarked  in  his  original  report :  "  The  chance 
occurrence  of  single  specimens  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  Indian 
relics,  at  depths  somewhat  greater  than  they  have  usually 
reached,  even  in  constantly  cultivated  soils,  induced  me, 
several  years  since,  to  carefully  examine  the  underlying 
gravels,  to  determine  if  the  common  surface -found  stone 
implements  of  Indian  origin  were  ever  found  therein,  except 
in  such  manner  as  might  easily  be  explained,  as  in  the  case 
of  deep  burials  by  the  uprooting  of  large  trees,  whereby  an 
implement  lying  on  the  surface,  or  immediately  below  it, 
might  fall  into  the  gravel  beneath,  and  subsequently  become 
buried  several  feet  in  depth ;  and  lastly,  by  the  action  of  the 
water,  as  where  a  spring,  swollen  by  spring  freshets,  cuts  for 
itself  a  new  channel,  and  carrying  away  a  large  1  ■  "dy  of  earth, 
leaves  its  larger  pebbles,  and  possibly  stone  implements  of  late 
origin,  upon  the  gravel  of  the  new  bed  of  the  tream."  But 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  yorarating  chuune-buried  neolithic 
or  modern  implements  from  the  genuine  palfeolithic  celts  or 
hatchets  abundantly  present  in  the  undisturbed  gravel  beds, 
from  which  they  have  been  taken  on  their  first  exposure. 

Professor  Henry  C.  Lewis,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Geological 
Survey,  states  that  "  at  the  localities  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  where  extensive  exposures  of  these  gravels  hav(3  been 
made,  the  deposit  is  undoubtedly  undisturbed.  No  implement 
could  have  come  into  this  gravel  except  at  a  time  when  the 
river  flowed  upon  it,  and  when  they  might  have  sunk  through 
the  loose  and  sliifting  material.  All  the  evidence  points  to 
the  conclusion  that  at  the  time  of  the  Trenton  gravel  flood, 
Man,  in  a  rude  state,  with  habits  similar  to  those  of  the  river- 
drift  hunter  of  Europe,  and  probably  under  a  climate  similar 
to  tliat  of  more  northern  regions,  lived  upon  the  banks  of  the 
ancient  Delaware,  and  lost  his  stone  implements  in  the  shift- 
*  Foster's  Prehistoric  llaces,  p.  65. 


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164 


FREARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


ing  sands  and  gravel  of  the  bed  of  that  stream."  ^     To  this 
Dr.  Abbott  adds :  "  At  just  such  a  locality  as  Trentou,  where 
the  river  widens  out,  traces  of  man,  had  he  existed  during  the 
accumulation  of  the  gravel,  would  be   most  likely  to  occur. 
This  is  true  not  only  because  there  is  here  the  greatest  mass 
of  the  gravel,  and  the  best  opportunities  for  examining  it  in 
section,  but  the  locality  would  be  one  most  favourable  for  the 
existence   of   man  at   the  time.     The  hij^'her  ground  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  was  sufficiently  elevated  to  be  free  from 
the  encroachments  of  the  ice  and  water,  and  the  climate,  soil, 
and  fauna  are  all  such  as  to  make  it  possible  for  man  to  exist 
at  this  time  in  this  locality.'"^      In    1878   the  tusk  of  a 
mastodon  was   found   under  partially  stratified  gravel  at   a 
depth  of  fourteen  feet ;  and  Dr.  Abbott  states  that,  within  a 
few  yards  of  this,  palaeolithic  implements  have  been  gathered, 
one  at  the  same  and  three  at  greater  depths.     Now  that  an 
intelligent  interest  has  been  awakened  in  the  subject,  numerous 
labourers  are  enlisted  in  its  elucidation.     To  this  a  cohereiit 
unity  has  been  given  by  the  archaeologists  of  the  Peabody 
Museum  at  Harvard,  and  the  curators  of  the  National  Museum 
at  Washington.     The  results  of  a  systematic  inquiry  by  the 
latter  into  the  localities  and  numbers  of  examples  of  supposed 
palaeolithic  works  of   art  already    recovered,    have   disclosed 
abundant  confirmatory  evidence.     Special  attention  was  invited 
to  the  occurrence  of  surface-finds,  as  well  as  to  the  depth  and 
the   geological    indications    of   age  in   those   recovered  from 
excavations  or  chance  exposures  under  the  surface.     Of  the 
superficial  examples  the  proof   of  the    occurrence    of   stone 
implements  of  palaeolithic  types   over  widely  diffused   areas, 
from  New  England  to  Texas,  is  abundant.     Much  caution  is 
required  in  the  conclusions  derived  from  such  implements  found 
exposed,  or  in  superficial  deposits,  on  a  continent  where  weapons 
and  implements  of  stone  are    still  in   frequent  use.      But 
after  the  elimination  of  all  doubtful  examples,  abundant  evi- 
dence remains  of  the  presence  of  man  on  the  American  con- 
tinent in  a  Palaeolithic  as  well  as  an  early  Neolithic  age.     An 
interesting  risum^  of  recent    evidence  is  embodied   in   the 
"  Eesults  of  an  Inquiry  as  to  the  Existence  of  Man  in  North 

^  The  Antiquity  and  Origin  of  the  Trenton  Oravel,  p.  647. 
.  *  Primitive  Industry,  p.  481. 


I.Vii* 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


165 


America  during  the  Palteolithic  Period  of  the  Stone  Age,"  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Wilson  of  the  National  Museum  at  Washington.* 

It  may  still  be  a  question  whether  the  Palceolithic  age  of 
the  New  World  is  equally  remote  with  that  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  The  date  approximately  assigned  thus  far  to  the 
American  Palajolithic  era  is,  geologically  speaking,  recent ; 
and  on  that  very  account  adapts  itself  to  other  favoured 
assumptions,  such  as  the  supposed  Eskimo  pedigree  derived 
from  the  race  of  Kurope's  Reindeer  period.  This  chimes  in 
with  the  old  idea  of  the  American  antiquary  that  the  Skrcclings 
referred  to  in  the  Eric  Saga  were  Eskimo,  as  is  far  from 
improbable,  though  the  assumption  rests  on  no  definite  evi- 
dence. Dr.  Abbott  accordingly  reproduces  the  statement  of 
Professor  Dawkins,  in  confirmation  of  the  revived  belief. 
"  We  are  without  a  clue  to  the  ethnology  of  the  river-drift 
man,  who  most  probably  is  as  completely  extinct  at  the 
present  time  as  the  woolly  rhinoceros  or  the  cave-bear ;  but 
the  discoveries  of  the  last  twenty  years  have  tended  to  con- 
firm the  identification  of  the  cave-man  with  the  Eskimo." 
Such  a  fanciful  hypothesis  once  accepted  as  fact,  its  application 
to  American  ethnology  is  easy ;  and  so  Dr.  Abbott  proceeds 
to  appeal  unhesitatingly  to  evidence  sufficient  "  to  warrant  the 
assertion  that  the  palceolithic  man  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
makers  of  the  argillite  spear  points  on  the  other,  stand  in  the 
relationship  of  ancestor  and  descendant ;  and  if  the  latter,  as 
is  probable,  is  in  turn  the  ancestor  of  the  modem  Eskimo : 
then  does  it  not  follow  that  the  River-drift  and  Cave-man  of 
Europe,  supposing  the  relationship  of  the  latter  to  the  Eskimo 
to  be  correct,  bear  the  same  close  relationship  to  each  other 
as  do  the  American  representatives  of  these  earliest  of 
people  ? "  2 

Such  an  appeal  to  European  archteology  can  scarcely  fail  to 
suggest  some  very  striking  contrasts  thereby  involved.  As  the 
thoughtful  student  dwells  on  all  the  phenomena  of  change  and 
geological  revolution  which  he  has  to  encounter  in  seeking  to 
assign  to  the  man  of  the  European  Drift  his  place  in  vanished 
centuries,  his  mind  is  lost  in  amazement  at  the  vista  of  that 
long-forgotten  past.     Yet  inadequate  as  the  intermediate  steps 

^  Eepcn-t  of  Washington  National  Museum,  1887-88,  pp.  677-702. 
'  Primitive  Industry,  p.  517. 


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PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


may  appear.  *"liere  are  progressive  stages.  Amid  all  the  over- 
whelnxing  sense  of  the  vastness  of  the  period  embraced  in  the 
changes  which  he  reviews,  the  mind  rests  from  time  to  time 
at  well-defined  stations,  in  tracking  the  way  backward,  through 
ages  of  historical  antiquity,  into  the  night  of  time,  and  so  to 
that  dim  dawn  of  mechanical  skill  and  rational  industry  in 
which  the  first  tool-makers  plied  their  ingenious  arts.  But,  so 
far  as  yet  appears,  it  is  wholly  otherwise  throughout  the  whole 
western  continent,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  northward  to  the 
pole.  North  America  has  indeed  a  Copper  age  of  its  own  very 
markedly  defined  ;  for  the  shores  and  islands  of  Lake  Superior 
are  rich  in  pure  native  copper,  available  for  industrial  resources 
without  even  the  most  rudimentary  knowledge  of  metallurgic 
arts.  But  the  tools  and  personal  ornaments  fashioned  out  of 
this  more  workable  material  are  little,  if  at  all,  in  advance  of 
the  implements  of  stone ;  and,  with  this  exception,  the  primitive 
industry  of  North  America  manifests  wondrously  slight  traces 
of  progression  through  a,ll  the  ages  novir  assigned  to  man's 
preseuce  on  the  continent. 

The  means  available  for  forming  some  just  estimate  of  the 
character  of  native  American  art  are  now  abundant.  In  the 
National  Museum  at  Washington ;  the  Peabody  Museum  at 
Cambridge,  Mass. ;  the  Peabody  Academy  at  Salem ;  the 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  at  Philadelphia ;  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society  at  Worcester,  Mass. ;  and  in  various 
Historical  Societies  and  University  Museums  throughout  the 
States ;  the  student  of  American  archaology  has  the  means  of 
obtaining  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  native  arts.  At  the 
Centennial  Exposition  of  Philadelphia  in  18*76,  the  various 
States  vied  with  one  another  in  producing  an  adequate  repre- 
sentation of  the  antiquities  specially  characteristic  of  their  own 
localities ;  and  numerous  valuable  reports,  of  the  Smithsonian 
Jistitution,  the  United  States  Geographical  Surveys,  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  and  the  Geological  Surveys  of 
various  States,  have  furnished  data  for  determining  the  prehis- 
toric chroniclings  of  the  northern  continent. 

Old  of  the  latest  publications  of  this  class  is  Dr.  Abbott'p 
own  volume,  entitled  Primitive  Industry  :  or  Illtistrations  of 
the  Handiwork  in  Stone,  Bone,  and  Clay  of  tJie  native  Races  of  the 
Nortliern  Atlantic  Seaboard  of  America.     It  is  a  most  instruc- 


!l 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


167 


djm 


tive  epitome  of  North  American  archaeology.  Notwithstanding 
the  limits  set  in  the  title,  works  iu  metal  as  well  as  in  stone 
are  included  ;  and  what  are  the  results  ?  Twenty-one  out  of 
its  twenty-three  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  detailed  illustra- 
tions of  stone  and  flint  axes,  celts,  hammers,  chisels,  scrapers, 
drills,  knives,  etc.  Fish-hooks,  fish-spears,  awls  or  bodkins,  and 
other  implements  of  bone,  pottery,  pipes  both  in  stone  and  clay, 
and  personal  ornaments,  receive  the  like  detailed  illustration ; 
but  nearl)''  all  are  in  the  rudest  stage  of  rudimentary  art.  An 
advance  upon  this  is  seen  in  the  pottery  of  some  southern 
states.  That  of  the  Mound-Builders  appears  to  have  shown 
both  more  artistic  design  and  better  finish.  The  carving  in 
bone,  ivory,  and  slate-stone  of  various  western  tribes,  as  well 
as  of  the  extinct  Mound-Builders,  was  also  of  a  higher  character. 
But  taking  them  at  their  highest,  they  cannot  compare  in 
practical  skill  or  variety  of  application  with  the  industrial  arts 
of  Europe's  Neolithic  age ;  and  we  look  in  vain  for  any  traces 
of  higher  progress.  For  wellnigh  four  centuries,  this  continent 
has  been  familiar  to  European  explorers  and  settlers.  During 
some  considerable  portion  of  that  time,  by  means  of  agricultural 
operations,  and  all  the  incidents  consequent  on  urban  settle- 
ment, its  virgin  soil  has  been  turned  up  over  ever-increasing 
areas.  For  nearly  forty  years  I  have  myself  watched,  with  the 
curious  interest  of  one  previously  familiar  with  the  minute 
incidents  of  archaeological  research  in  Britain,  the  urban 
excavations,  railway  cuttings,  and  other  undesigned  explora- 
tions of  Canadian  soil.  Vithin  the  same  period,  both  in 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  extensive  canal,  railway,  and 
road-works  have  afforded  abundant  opportunities  for  research  ; 
and  a  widespread  interest  in  American  antiquities  has  tended 
to  confer  an  even  exaggerated  importance  on  every  novel  dis- 
covery. And  with  what  result  ?  Dr.  Abbott,  in  crowning 
such  explorations  with  his  interesting  and  valuable  discovery 
of  the  turtle-back  celts  and  other  implements  of  the  Delaware 
gravel,  has  epitomised  the  prehistoric  record  of  tlie  northern 
continent.  The  further  back  we  date  the  presence  of  man  in 
America,  the  more  marvellous  must  his  unprogressive  condition 
appear.  Whatever  may  be  the  ampler  disclosures  relative 
to  the  palaeolithic  or  primeval  race,  it  does  not  seem  probable 
that  this   northern   continent  will  now  yield  any  antiquities 


n.' 


1 68 


P RE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


suggestive  of  an  extinct  era  of  native  art  and  civilisation. 
Here  we  cannot  hope  to  find  a  buried  Ilium,  or  Tadmor  in  the 
Wilderness.  Everywhere  the  explorer  wanders,  and  the  agri- 
culturist follows,  turning  up  the  soil,  or  digging  deeper  as  he 
drains  and  builds ;  but  only  to  disturb  the  grave  of  the  savage 
hunter.  The  Mound-Builders  of  its  great  river-valleys  have 
indeed  left  there  their  enduring  earthworks,  wrought  at  times 
in  regular  geometrical  configuration  on  a  gigantic  scale,  strangely 
suggestive  oi  some  overruling  and  informing  mind  guiding  the 
hand  of  the  earth-worker.  But  their  moimds  and  earthworks 
disclose  o.  Jy  implements  of  bone  and  flint  or  stone,  with  here 
and  there  an  equally  rude  tool  of  hammered  native  copper. 
The  crudest  metallurgy  of  Europe's  Copper  age  was  unknown 
to  their  builders.  The  art  of  Tubal-cain,  the  primitive  worker 
in  brass  and  iron,  had  not  dawned  on  the  mind  of  any  native 
artificer.  Only  the  ingeniously  carved  tobacco  pipe,  or  the 
better  fashioned  pottery,  gives  the  slightest  hint  of  even  such 
progress  beyond  the  first  infantile  stage  of  the  tool -maker  as 
is  shown  in  the  artistic  carvings  of  the  cave-men  contemporary 
with  the  mammoth  and  the  reindeer  of  post-glacial  France. 

The  civilisation  of  Central  and  Southern  America  is  a 
wholly  distinct  thing ;  and,  as  I  think,  not  without  some 
f  uggestive  traces  of  Asiatic  origin  ;  but  the  attempts  to  connect 
it  with  that  of  ancient  Egypt,  suggested  mainly  by  the  hiero- 
glyphic sculpturing  on  their  columns  and  temples,  find  their  con- 
futation the  moment  we  attempt  to  compare  the  Egyptian  calendar 
with  that  either  of  Mexico  or  Peru.  Traces  of  worship  of  the 
sun,  the  earliest  of  all  forms  of  natural  religion,  have  undoubt- 
edly been  recovered  among  widely  scattered  tribes  of  North 
America ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  accompanied 
with  any  definite  mensuration  of  the  solar  year,  or  the  con- 
struction of  a  calendar.  The  changes  of  the  seasons  sufficed 
for  the  division  of  the  year,  not  only  into  summer  and  winter, 
but  into  the  diverse  aspects  of  the  seasons  from  month  to 
month ;  as  is  shown  in  the  names  given  to  the  "  moons "  in 
various  native  vocabularies.  It  was  otherwise  on  the  southern 
continent,  and  among  the  civilised  nations  of  Central  America. 
But  the  interblending  of  the  science  of  astronomy  with  the 
religious  rites  of  the  State  produced  the  wonted  results;  and 
this  was  peculiarly  the  case  in  Peru,  with  its  equatorial  site 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


169 


he 


for  the  temple  of  the  Sun-God  ;  and  his  seeming  literal  presence 
on  his  altar  at  recurrent  festivals.  There  accordingly,  even  as 
in  ancient  Egypt,  the  divine  honours  paid  to  the  heavenly  bodies 
was  an  impediment  to  the  progi-ess  of  astronomical  observation. 
Eclipses  were  regarded  with  the  same  superstitious  dread  as  among 
the  rudest  savage  nations ;  and  the  conservatism  of  an  established 
national  creed  must  have  proved  peculiarly  unfavourable  to  as- 
tronomical science.  The  impediments  to  Galileo's  observations 
were  trifling  compared  with  those  which  must  have  beset  the 
Inca  priest  who  ventured  to  question  the  diurnal  revolution  of 
the  sun  round  the  earth,  or  to  solve  the  awful  mystery  of  an  eclipse 
by  so  simple  an  explanation  as  the  interposition  of  the  moon 
between  the  sun  and  the  earth.  The  Mexican  Calendar  Stone, 
which  embodies  evidence  of  greater  knowledge,  was  believed  by 
Humboldt  to  indicate  unmistakable  relations  to  the  ancient 
science  of  South-Eastern  Asia.  It  is  of  more  importance  here  to 
note  the  shortness  of  the  Mexican  cycle,  and  the  small  amount  of 
error  in  their  deviation  from  true  solar  time,  as  compared  with  the 
European  calendar  at  the  time  when  the  Spaniards  first  intruded 
on  Montezuma's  rule.  That  the  Spaniards  were  ten  days  in 
error,  as  compared  with  the  Aztec  reckoning,  only  demonstrates 
the  length  of  time  during  which  error  had  been  accumulating  in 
the  reformed  Julian  calendar  of  Jurope ;  and  so  tends  to  con- 
iirm  the  idea  that  the  civilisation  of  the  Mexicans  was  of  no 
very  great  antiquity. 

The  whole  evidence  supplied  by  Northern  archaeology 
proves  that  in  so  far  as  it  had  any  civilisation  of  foreign 
origin,  it  must  have  been  derived  from  the  South,  where 
alike  in  Central  and  in  Southern  America,  diverse  races,  and  a 
native  civilisation  replete  with  elements  of  progress,  have  left 
behind  them  many  enduring  memorials  of  skill  and  ingenuity. 
But  the  extremely  slight  and  very  partial  traces  of  its  influence 
on  any  people  of  the  northern  continent  would  of  itself  suffice 
to  awaken  doubts  as  to  its  long  duration.  The  civilisation  of 
Greece  and  Eome  did  indeed  exercise  no  direct  influence  on 
transalpine  Europe ;  but  long  centuries  befoi-e  the  Romans 
crossed  the  Alps,  as  the  disclosures  of  the  lake  villages,  the 
crannoges,  the  kitchen  middens,  and  the  sepulchral  mounds  of 
Central  and  Northern  Europe  prove,  the  nations  beyond  their 
ken  were  familiar  with  weaving,  and  with  the  ceramic  and 


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PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


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inetallurgic  arts;  were  far  advanced  as  agriculturists,  had 
domesticated  animals,  acquired  systems  of  phonetic  writing,  and 
learned  the  value  of  a  currency  of  the  precious  metals. 

Midway  between  North  America  with  its  unredeemed 
barbarism,  and  the  southern  seats  of  a  native  American  civilisa- 
tion, Mexico  represents,  as  I  believe,  the  first  contact  of  the 
latter  with  the  former.  A  gleam  of  light  was  just  beginning 
to  dawn  on  the  horizon  of  the  northern  continent.  The  long 
night  of  its  Dark  Ages  was  coming  to  a  close,  when  the 
intrusion  of  the  Spaniards  abruptly  arrested  the  incipient 
civilisation,  and  began  the  displacement  of  its  aborigines  and 
the  repetition  of  the  Aryan  ethnical  revolution,  which  had 
already  supplanted  the  autochthones  of  prehistoric  Europe. 

The  publication  in  1848  of  the  first  volume  of  the 
Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  devoted  to  the 
history  and  explorations  of  the  ancient  monuments  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  gave  a  wonderful  stimulus  to  archaeological 
research  in  the  Uni|;ed  States.  For  a  time,  indeed,  much 
credulous  zeal  was  devoted  to  the  search  for  buried  cities, 
inscribed  records,  and  the  fancied  recovery,  in  more  or  less 
modified  form,  in  northern  areas,  of  the  civilisation  of  the 
Aztecs ;  not  unmingled  with  dreams  of  Phoenician,  Hebrew, 
Scandinavian,  and  Welsh  remains.  The  history  of  some  of 
its  spurious  productions  is  not  without  interest ;  but  its  true 
fruits  are  seen  in  numerous  works  which  Jiave  since  issued 
from  the  American  press,  devoted  to  an  accurate  recor4  of 
local  antiquities.  So  thoroughly  has  this  already  been  carried 
out,  that  it  may  now  be  affirmed  tha|i,  tu  all  abpearance,  the 
condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  tjie  nort|i  of  Mfi\'ioo,  as 
shown  in  the  rude  arts  of  a  Stone  age,  scq-i-cely  at  all  affected 
in  its  character  by  their  use  of  j:||b  tiftHve  con|3e^  of  Lake 
Superior,  represents  what  prevailed  throughout  the  whole 
northern  continent  in  a|l  iliu  ceiitiiiies  however  prolonged, — 
since  the  hunters  in  the  tlelaware  valley  fashioned  and  em- 
ployed llieii  liudti  liftisji  umIM- 

The  condition  of  the  liatiuus  ol  North  America  at  the 
J»©r|Tid  of  its  discovery,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
|i1ft|  be  described  as  one  of  unstable  equilibrium ;  and  nothing 
|li  ts  nrchseological  record*  points  to  an  older  period  of  any 
proumgml  (lnration  of  settled  progress.     The  p^vsjcit-  ^x  i;_,-fl ,  >y 


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PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


171 


of  the  continent  presents  in  many  respects  such  a  contrast  to 
that  of  Europe,  as  is  seen  in  the  steppes  of  Northern  Asia,  though 
with  great  navigable  rivers,  which  only  needed  the  appliances 
of  modern  civilisation  to  make  them  for  the  New  World  what 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  were  to  Southern  Asia,  and  the 
Nile  to  Africa,  in  ancient  centuries.  Those  vast  tablelands, 
the  great  steppes  of  Mongolia  and  Independent  Tartary,  have 
ever  been  the  haunts  of  predatory  tribes  by  whom  the  civilisa- 
tion of  Southern  Asia  has  been  repeatedly  overthrown ;  and 
from  the  same  barbarian  hive  came  the  Huns  who  ravaged  the 
Eoman  world  in  its  decline.  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  nursed 
its  youthful  civilisation  among  detached  communities  of  its 
southern  peninsulas  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea;  and  in  later 
ages  has  repeatedly  experienced  the  advantages  of  geographical 
isolation  in  the  valleys  of  the  Alps,  in  Norway  and  Denmark, 
in  Portugal,  the  Netherlands,  and  the  British  Islands :  where 
nations  protected  in  their  youth  from  predatory  hordes,  and 
sheltered  during  critical  periods  of  change,  have  safely  passed 
through  their  earlier  stages  of  progress. 

All  that  we  know  or  can  surmise  of  the  nations  of  North 
America,  presents  a  total  contrast  to  this.  In  so  far  as  the 
mystery  of  its  prehistoric  Mound- Builders  has  been  solved,  we 
sue  there  a  people  who  had  attained  to  a  grade  of  civilisation 
not  greatly  dissimilar  to  that  of  the  village  <_ommunities  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona;  and  who  had  settled  down  in  the 
Ohio  valley,  perhaps  while  feudal  Europe  was  still  only 
emerging  from  mediaeval  rudeness,  if  not  at  an  earlier  date. 
The  great  river-valley  was  occupied  by  populous  urban  centres 
of  an  industrious  community.  Agriculture,  though  prosecuted 
only  with  the  simplest  implements,  chiefly  of  wood  and  stone, 
must  have  been  practised  on  an  extensive  scale.  The  primi- 
tive arts  of  the  potter  were  improved ;  the  copper  abounding 
iu  the  remote  region  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  was  prized 
as  a  rarity;  though  metallurgy  in  its  practical  applications 
had  scarcely  entered  on  its  first  stage.  The  nation  was  in  its 
infancy ;  but  it  had  passed  beyond  the  rude  hunter  state,  and 
was  entering  on  a  settled  life,  with  all  possibilities  of  progress 
in  the  future,  when  the  fierce  nomads  of  the  north  swept 
down  on  the  populous  valley,  and  left  it  a  desolate  waste.  If  so, 
it  was  but  a  type  of  the  whole  native  liistory  of  the  continent. 


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172 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


From  all  that  can   be  gleaned,  alike  fi    n   archajological 
chroniclings,  Indian  tradition,  and  the  actual  lacts  of  history 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  the  condition  of 
the  whole  population  of  the  northern  continent  has  ever  been 
the   same.     It  might  not  inaptly  be   compared  to  an   ever- 
recurring  springtide,  followed  by  frosts  that  nipped  the  young 
germ,  and  rendered  the  promised  fruitage  abortive.     Through- 
out the  whole  period  of  French  and  English  colonial  history, 
the  influence  of  one  or  two  savage  but  warlike  tribes  is  trace- 
able from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  the 
rival  nations  were  exposed  to  such  constant  warfare  that  it  is 
more  than  doubtful  if  the  natural  increase  of  population  was 
latterly  equal  to  the  waste  of  war.     Almost  the  sole  memorials 
of  vanished  nations  are  the  names  of  some  of  their  mountain 
ranges  and  rivers.     It  is  surmised,  as  already  noted,  that  the 
AUighewi,  or  Tallegwi,  to  whom  the  name  common  to  the 
Alleghany  Mountains    and     iver  is  traced,  were  the   actual 
Mound-Builders.^     If  so,  the  history  of  their  overthrow  is  not 
wholly  a  matter  of  surmise.     The  traditions  of  the  Delawares 
told  that  the  Alleghans  were  a  powerful  nation  reaching  to  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  Mississippi,  where  their  palisaded  towns 
occupied  all  the  choicesc  sites  in  the  Ohio  valley ;    but  the 
Wyandots,  or  Iroquois,  including  perhaps  the  Fries,  who  had 
established  themselves  on  the  head-waters  of  the  chief  rivers 
that  rise  immediately  to  the  south  of  the  great  lakes,  combined 
with  the  Delawares,  or  Lenape  nation,  to  crush  that  ancient 
people;  and  the  decimated  Alleghans  were  driven  down  the 
Mississippi,  and  dispersed.     Some  surviving  remnant,  such  as 
even  a  war  of  extermination  spares,  may  have  been  absorbed 
into  the   conquering    nation,  after  the  fashion  systematically 
pursued    by    the    Huron  -  Iroquois    in    the    seventeenth    and 
eighteenth   centuries.     Nor   is   this  a  mere  conjecture.     Mr. 
Horatio  Hale,  recognising  the  evident  traces  in  the  Cherokee 
language   of    a  grammar  mainly   Huron -Iroquois,   while  the 
vocabulary   is    largely   recruited    from    some    foreign    source, 
thinks   it  not   improbable   that  the  origin   of    the   Cherokee 
nation  may  have  been  due  to  a  union  of  the  survivors  of  the 
old  Mound-Builder  stock  witli  some  branch  of  the  coiiquerinj^ 
race;  just  as  in  1649  a  fugitive  remnant  of  the  Hurona  from 

1  Indian  Migrations  as  Evidence  of  Language  (Horatio  Hale),  p.  21. 


w 


"I 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


175 


the  Georgian  Bay  were  adopted  into  the  Seneca  nation ;  *  and  a 
few  years  later  such  of  the  captive  Eries  as  escaped  torture 
and  the  stake  were  admitted  into  affiliation  with  their 
conquerors.^ 

The  whole  region  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the 
fifty-second  to  the  thirty-sixth  degree  of  north  latitude,  appears 
to  have  been  occupied  by  the  two  great  Indian  stocks,  the 
Algonquin  -  Lenape  and  the  Iroquois.  But  Gallatin,  who 
directed  special  attention  to  the  determination  of  the  ele- 
ments of  philological  affinity  between  them,  recognised  to 
the  south  of  their  region  the  existence  of  at  least  tliree 
essentially  distinct  languages  of  extensive  use:  the  Catawba, 
the  Cherokee,  and  that  which  he  assumed  to  include  in  a 
common  origin,  both  the  Muskhogee  and  the  Choctaw.^  But 
besides  those,  six  well-ascertained  languages  of  smaller  tribes, 
including  those  of  the  Uchees  and  the  Natchez,  appear  to 
demand  separate  recognition.  Their  region  differs  essentially 
from  those  over  which  the  Algonquin  and  Iroquois  war-pavLies 
ranged  at  will.  It  is  broken  up  by  broad  river  channels,  and 
intersected  by  impenetrable  swamps ;  and  lias  thus  afforded 
refuge  for  the  remnants  of  conquered  tribes,  and  for  the  pre- 
servation of  distinct  languages  among  small  bands  of  refugees. 
The  Timucuas  were  the  ancient  occupants  of  Florida ;  but  they 
appear  to  have  been  displaced  by  the  Chatta-Muskogee  nations  ; 
driven  forth,  as  is  surmised,  from  their  homes  in  the  Ohio 
valley  ;  and  the  older  race  is  only  known  now  by  the  preserva- 
tion of  its  language  in  works  of  the  Spanish  missionaries.* 

When  the  Ohio  valley  was  first  explored  it  was  unin- 
habited ;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
the  whole  region  extending  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Tennessee 
river  was  an  unpeopled  desert.  But  the  Cherokees  were  in 
the  occupation  of  their  territory  when  first  visited  by  De  Soto 
in  1540;  and  they  are  described  by  Bertram  in  1773,  with 
their  great  council-house,  capaUe  of  accommodating  several 
hundreds,  erected  on  the  ^'aramit  '/  one  of  the  large  moundfi, 
in  tiieir  town  of  Cow<%,  on  '^he  Tanase  river,  in  Florida.  But 
Bertram  adds :  "  This  WiOund  on  which  the  rotunda  stands,  is 
of  a  much  ancienter  date  than  the  building,  and  perhaps  was 


i 

.J 

'  liiilinn  Migrations,  p.  22. 


RelcUUms  des  JiauUes,  1660,  p.  7.     Quebec  ed. 


Archieohiffia  Aimrkana,  vol.  ii,  *  Brinton,  Rcuxt  and  Peoples^  p.  254. 


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174 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


raised  for  another  purpose.  The  Cherokees  themselves  are  as 
ignorant  as  we  are  by  what  people,  or  for  what  purpose,  these 
artificial  hills  were  raised."  ^  It  would,  indeed,  no  more  occur 
to  those  wanderers  into  the  deserted  regions  of  the  Mound- 
Builders  to  inquire  into  the  origin  of  their  moundS;  than  into 
that  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

If  then  it  is  probable  that  we  thus  recover  some  clue  to 
the  identity  of  the  vanished  race  of  the  Ohio  valley,  the  very 
designation  of  the  river  is  a  memorial  of  their  supplanters. 
The  Ohio  is  an  Iroquois  name  given  to  the  river  of  the  Alle- 
ghans  by  that  indomitable  race  of  savage  warriors  who  effectually 
counteracted  the  plans  of  France,  under  her  greatest  monarchs, 
for  the  settlement  of  the  New  World.  Their  historian,  the  late 
Hon.  L.  H.  Morgan,  remarks  of  the  Iroquois :  "  They  achieved 
for  themselves  a  more  remarkable  civil  organisation,  and  ac- 
quired a  higher  degree  of  influence,  than  any  other  race  of 
Indian  lineage  except  those  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  In  the 
drama  of  European  colonisation,  they  stood,  for  nearly  two 
centuries,  with  an  unshaken  front,  against  the  devastations  of 
war,  the  blighting  influence  of  foreign  intercourse,  and  the  still 
more  fatal  encroachments  of  a  restless  and  advancing  border 
population.  Under  their  federal  system,  the  Iroquois  flourished 
in  in(1"pendence,  and  capable  of  self-protection,  long  after  the 
New  England  and  Virginia  races  had  surrendered  their  juris- 
dictions, and  fallen  into  the  condition  of  dependent  nations; 
and  they  now  stand  forth  upon  the  canvas  of  Indian  history, 
prominent  alike  for  the  wisdom  of  their  civil  institutions,  their 
sagacity  in  the  administration  of  the  league,  and  their  courage 
in  its  defence."  ^  But  to  characterise  the  elements  of  com- 
bined action  among  the  Six  Nation  Indians  as  wise  civil 
institutions ;  or  to  use  such  terms  as  league  and  federal 
system  in  the  sense  in  which  they  are  employed  by  the 
historian  of  the  Iroquois ;  is  to  suggest  associations  that  are 
illusory.  With  all  the  romance  attached  to  the  League  of  the 
Hodenosauneegii,  they  were  to  the  last  mere  savages.  When 
the  treaty  which  initiated  the  great  league  was  entered  into  by 
Urn  two  oldest  members,  the  Moliawks  and  the  Oneidas,  the 
former  claimed  the  name   of  Kanienga,  or   "  People   of  the 

^  Banram't  2V«Mk.  tkr«ugh  North  and  South  Carolina,  Oeorgia,  etc.,  1791| 
p.  367.  •  ■  *  The  League  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  2. 


I 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


175 


Flint."  Whatever  may  have  been  the  precise  idea  they 
attached  to  the  designation,  they  were,  as  they  remained  to 
the  last,  but  in  their  Stone  period.  Their  arts  were  of  the 
rudest  character,  and  their  wars  had  no  higher  aim  than  the 
gratification  of  an  inextinguishable  hatred.  All  that  we  know 
of  them  only  serves  to  illustrate  a  condition  of  life  such  as 
may  have  sufficed  through  countless  generations  to  perpetuate 
the  barbarism  which  everywhere  reveals  itself  in  the  traces  of 
man  throughout  the  northern  continent  of  Am(  rica.  One 
nation  after  another  perished  by  the  fury  of  this  race,  powerful 
only  to  destroy.  The  Susquehannocks,  whose  name  still  clings 
to  the  beautiful  river  on  the  banks  of  which  they  once  dwelt, 
are  believed  to  have  been  of  the  same  lineage  as  the  Alleghans; 
but  they  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  Iroquois,  and  perished.  At 
a  later  date  the  Delawares  provoked  a  like  vengeance ;  and  the 
remnant  of  that  nation  quitted  for  ever  the  shores  of  the  river 
which  perpetuates  their  name.  Such  in  like  manner  was  the 
fate  of  the  Shawnees,  Nanticokes,  Unamis,  Minsi,  and  Illinois. 
All  alike  were  vanquished,  reduced  to  the  condition  of  serfs, 
or  driven  out  and  exterminated. 

The  tribes  that  lived  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  appear 
to  have  been  for  the  most  part  more  strictly  nomad.  The 
open  character  of  the  country,  with  its  vast  tracts  of  prairie, 
and  its  herds  of  buffalo  and  other  game,  no  doubt  helped  to 
encourage  a  wandering  life.  The  Crees,  the  Blackfeet,  the 
Sioux,  Cheyennes,  Comanches,  and  Apaches  were  all  of  this 
class,  and  with  their  interminable  feuds  and  perpetual  migra- 
tions rendered  all  settled  life  impossible.  The  Mandans,  the 
most  civilised  among  the  tribes  of  the  North-West,  abandoned 
village  after  village  under  the  continual  attacks  of  the  Sioux, 
until  they  disappeared  as  a  nation ;  and  the  little  handful  of 
survivors  found  shelter  with  another  tribe.  ' 

All  this  was  the  work  of  Indians.  The  Spaniards,  indeed, 
wasted  and  destroyed  v/ith  no  less  merciless  indiscrimination. 
Not  only  nations  perii^hed,  but  a  singularly  interesting  phase 
of  native  civilisation  was  abruptly  arrested  in  Mexico,  Central 
America,  aud  Peru.  The  intrusion  of  French,  Dutch,  and 
English  colonists  was,  no  doubt,  fatal  to  the  aborigines  whom 
they  supplanted.  Nevertheless  their  record  is  not  one  of 
indiscriminate  massacre.     The  relations  of  the  French,  especi- 


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176 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


ally  with  the  tribes  with  whom  they  were  brought  into  immedi- 
ate contact,  were  on  the  whole  kindly  and  protective.  But  as 
we  recover  the  history  of  the  native  tribes  whose  lands  are  now 
occupied  by  the  representatives  of  those  old  colonists,  wo  find 
the  Indians  everywhere  engaged  in  the  same  exterminating 
warfare ;  and  whether  we  look  at  the  earlier  maps,  or  attempt 
to  reconstruct  the  traditionary  history  of  older  tribes,  we  learn 
only  the  same  tale  of  aimless  strife  and  extinction.  When 
Cartier  first  explored  the  St.  Lawrence  in  1535  he  found  lai-ge 
Indian  settlements  at  Quebec  and  on  the  island  of  Montreal ; 
but  on  the  return  of  the  French  under  Champlain,  little  more 
than  half  a  century  later,  there  were  none  left  to  dispute  their 
settlement.  At  the  later  date,  and  throughout  the  entire  period 
of  French  occupation,  the  country  to  the  south  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  Lake  Ontario  was  orr-upied  by  the  Iroquois,  or 
Six  Nation  Indians,  as  they  were  latterly  called.  Westward 
of  the  river  Ottawa  tlie  whole  region  was  deserted  until  near 
the  shores  of  the  Georgian  Bay ;  though  its  early  explorers 
found  everywhere  the  traces  of  recent  occupation  by  the 
Wyandot  or  other  tribes,  who  had  withdrawn  to  the  shores  of 
Lake  Huron  to  escape  the  fury  ^f  their  implacable  foes. 

At  the  period  when  the  Hurons  were  first  brought  under 
the  notice  of  the  French  Jesuit  missionaries  in  the  seventeenth 
century  they  wen;  established  along  the  Georgian  Bay  and 
around  Lake  Simcoe ;  and  in  so  far  as  the  wild  virtues  of  the 
sfivage  warrior  are  concerned,  they  fully  equalKd  the  Iroquois 
by  whom  they  were  at  length  driven  out  and  nearly  exter- 
minated. When  Locke  visited  Paris  in  1670  the  narratives 
of  the  Jesuit  fathers  had  rendered  familiar  the  untlinching 
endurance  of  this  race  under  the  frightful  tortures  to  which 
they  were  subjected  by  their  Iroquois  captors  ;  and  which  they, 
in  turn,  not  only  inflicted  on  their  captive  foes,  but  on  one 
after  another  of  the  missionaries  whose  devoted  zeal  exposed 
them  to  their  fury.  We  now  read  with  interest  this  reflection 
noted  in  Locke's  Journal,  in  which  he  recognises  in  these  savages 
the  common  motives  of  humanity ;  the  same  desire  to  win 
credit  and  reputation,  and  to  avoid  shame  and  disgrace,  which 
animates  all  men :  "  This  makes  the  Hurons  and  other  people 
of  Canada  with  such  constancy  endure  inexpressible  torments ; 
this  makes  merchants  in  one  country  and  soldiers  in  another; 


'f*-- 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


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this  puts  men  upon  school  divinity  in  one  country  and  pliysics 
and  matheiaatics  in  another;  this  cuts  out  the  dresses  for  the 
women,  and  maku  tlie  fashion;-  for  the  men,  and  makes  them 
endure  the  inconveniences  of  all."  Tlie  great  English  p!  losopher 
manifestly  cmtertained  no  doubt  that  the  latent  elements  on 
which  all  civilisation  depends  were  equally  shared  by  Indian 
and  European  lUit  the  Hurons  perished — all  but  a  little 
remnant  of  Christianised  lialf-breeds  now  settled  on  the  St. 
Cliarles  river  below  Quebec — in  their  very  fiour  of  contact 
with  European  i  ivilinatiou. 

Father  Sagard  estimated  the  Huron  tribes  at  the  close  of 
their  national  history,  when  Ihey  had  been  greatly  reduced  in 
numbers,  as  still  between  thirty  and  forty  thousand.  But 
besides  these  there  lay  between  ♦^hem  and  the  shores  of  Lake 
Erie  and  tlie  Niagara  river  the  Tiontonones  and  tlv  Atti- 
wendaronks,  and  to  the  south  of  the  Great  Lake  the  Eries,  iiI! 
of  the  same  stock,  and  all  sharers  in  the  same  fate.  Tradition 
points  to  the  kindling  uf  the  council-fire  of  peace  among  the 
Attiwendaronks  before  the  organisation  of  the  Iroquois  con- 
federacy. Father  Joseph  de  la  Eoche  d'Allyon,  who  passed 
throu-ii  their  country  v/hen  seeking  to  discover  the  source  of 
the  Niagara  rivei,  speaks  of  twenty-eight  towns  and  villages 
under  the  rule  of  its  chief  Sachem,  and  of  their  extcuaive  cul- 
tivation of  maize,  beans,  and  tobacco.  They  had  won,  moreover, 
the  strange  character  of  being  lo\  ers  of  peace,  and  were  styled 
by  the  French  the  Neuters,  from  :  he  desire  they  manifested  to 
maintain  a  friendly  neutrality  alike  with  the  Hurons  and  the 
Iroquois.  Of  the  Eries  we  know  less.  In  the  French  maps 
of  the  seventeenth  century  the  very  existence  of  the  great  lake 
wliich  perpetuates  their  name  was  unknown ;  but  the  French 
fur-traders  were  aware  of  a  tribe  existing  to  the  west  of  the 
Iroquois,  whose  country  abounded  with  the  lynx  or  wild  cat, 
the  fur  of  which  was  specially  prized,  and  they  designated  it 
"La  Nation  du  Chat."  To  their  artistic  skill  are  ascribed 
several  remains  of  aboriginal  art,  among  which  a  pictorial 
inscription  on  Cunningham's  Island  is  described  as  by  far  the 
most  elaborate  work  of  its  class  hitherto  found  on  the  continent.^ 
From  the  partial  glimpses  thus  recovered  of  both  nations  we 
are  tempted  to  ascribe  to  them  an  aptitude  for  civilisation  fully 

*  Schoolcraft,  History  of  the  Iiidian  Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  78. 

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equal  to  that  of  which  the  boasted  federal  league  of  the  Iro- 
quois gave  evidence.  But  they  perished  by  the  violence  of 
kindred  nations  before  either  the  French  or  English  could 
establish  intercourse  with  them ;  and  their  fate  doubtless  reveals 
to  us  glimpses  of  history  such  as  must  have  found  frequent 
repetition  in  older  centuries  throughout  the  whole  IS''orth 
American  continent. 

The  legend  of  the  peace-pipe,  Longfellow's  poetic  version  of 
the  Eed  Indian  Edda,  founded  on  traditions  of  the  Iroquois 
narrated  by  an  Onondaga  chief,  represents  Gitche  Manito,  the 
Master  of  Life,  descending  on  the  crag  of  the  red  pipestone 
quarry  at  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  and  calling  all  the  tribes 


together  :- 


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And  tliey  stood  there  on  the  meadow 
With  their  weapons  and  their  Avar  gear, 
Wildly  glaring  at  each  other. 
,    In  their  faces  stern  defiance, 
In  their  hearts  the  feuds  of  ages, 
The  hereditary  hatred, 
The  ancestral  thirst  of  vengeance. 

So  far  the  picture  is  true  to  nature ;  but  no  dream  of  a 
millennial  era  for  the  Eed  Man,  in  which  all  were  thencefortli 
to  live  together  as  brothers,  can  have  fashioned  itself  in  the 
mind  of  Indian  seer.  The  Sioux,  the  Crees,  and  the  Blackfeet, 
still  continued  to  nurse  the  same  feud  of  ages,  and  thirsted 
for  each  other's  blood,  while  European  emigrants  crowd  in  to 
take  possession  of  their  vast  prairies,  destined  to  become  the 
granaries  of  the  world.  The  buffalo,  on  which  they  mainly 
depended  for  their  fcod,  and  their  teepees  or  tents,  have  vanished 
from  their  prairies,  and  will  ere  long  be  as  extinct  as  tlie 
fossil  urus  or  mastodon.  The  Eed  Man  of  the  North- West 
exhibits  no  change  from  his  precursors  of  the  fifteenth  century ; 
and  for  aught  that  appears  in  him  of  a  capacity  for  self- 
development,  the  forests  apd  prairies  of  the  American  continent 
may  have  sheltered  hunting  and  warring  tribes  of  Indians,  just 
as  they  have  sheltered  and  pastured  its  wild  herds  of  buffaloes, 
for  countless  centuries  since  the  continent  rose  from  its 
ocean  bed. 

Only  by  prolonged  hereditary  feuds,  more  insatiable,  and 
therefore  more  destructive  in  their  results  than  the  ravages  of 


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tigers  or  wolves,  is  it  possible  to  account  for  such  an  unpro- 
grescive  condition  of  humanity  as  the  archaeological  disclosures 
of  the  northern  continent  seem  to  reveal  ?  Its  numerous 
rivers  and  lakes,  and  its  boundless  forests  and  prairies,  afforded 
inexhaustible  resource?  for  the  hunter,  and  both  soil  and 
climate  have  proved  admirably  adapted  for  agriculture.  Still 
more,  the  great  copper  region  of  Lake  Superior  provided 
advantages  such  as  have  existed  in  few  other  countries  of  the 
known  world  for  developing  the  first  stages  of  metallurgic  art 
on  which  civilisation  so  largely  depends.  "Whether  brought 
with  them  from  Asia,  or  discovered  for  themselves,  the  grand 
secret  of  the  mastery  of  the  ores  by  fire  was  already  familiar 
to  Peruvian  metallurgists,  and  not  unknown  to  those  of  Mexico. 
Unalloyed  copper,  such  as  that  which  abounds  in  the  igneous 
rocks  of  the  Keweenaw  peninsula  on  Lake  Superior,  is 
extremely  difficult  to  cast ;  and  the  addition  of  a  small  percent- 
age of  tin  not  only  produces  the  useful  bronze  alloy,  but  renders 
the  copper  more  readily  fusible.  This  all-important  secret  of 
science  the  metallurgists  of  Peru  had  discovered  for  them- 
selves, and  turned  largely  to  practical  account.  The  pictured 
chronicles  of  the  Mexicans  throw  an  interesting  light  on  the 
value  they  attached  to  the  products  of  this  novel  art.  It 
appears  from  some  of  their  paintings  that  the  tribute  di^o  by 
certain  provinces  was  paid  in  wedges  of  copper.  The  forms  of 
these,  as  well  as  of  chisels  and  other  tools  of  bronze,  are  simple, 
and  indicate  no  great  ingenuity  in  adapting  the  moulded  metal 
to  the  artificer's  or  the  combatant's  requirements.  The  methods 
of  hafting  the  axe-blade  appear  to  have  been  of  nearly  the 
same  rude  description  as  are  in  use  bj*  modern  savages  in 
fitting  the  handle  to  a  hatchet  of  flint  or  stone ;  and  the  whole 
characteristics  of  their  '"mplements  suggest  the  probability  that 
their  metallurgy  was  a  recently  acquired  art,  derived  from  the 
civilised  races  on  whom  they  had  intruded  as  conquerors. 

Such  knowledge,  partial  as  it  was,  must  have  been  derived 
from  the  south.  Everywhere  to  the  north  of  the  Mexican 
Gulf  we  look  in  vain  for  pnything  more  than  the  mere 
hammered  native  copper,  untouched  by  fire.  Dr.  J.  W.  Foster 
does  indeed  quote  Mr.  Perkins,  who  himself  possesses  sixty 
oopper  implements,  including  knives,  spear  heads,  chisels,  and 
objects  of  anomalous  form,  as  having  arrived  at  the  conclusion 


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"that,  by  reason  of  certain  markings,  it  was  evident  that  the 
Mound-Builders  possessed  the  art  of  israelting  copper,"  ^  but  the 
illustrations  produced  in  proof  of  it  scarcely  b^ar  out  the 
opinion.  The  same  idea  has  been  repeatedly  advanced ;  but  the 
contents  of  the  Mounds  amply  prove  that  if  such  a  knowledge 
had  dawned  on  their  builders  it  was  turned  to  no  practical 
account.  Mr.  Charles  Rau,  in  his  Ancient  Alorig'>'nal  Trade  in 
North  America,  says :  "  Although  the  fire  on  the  hearths  or  altars 
now  enclosed  by  the  sacrificial  mounds  was  sometimes  suffici- 
ently strong  to  melt  the  deposited  copper  articles,  it  does  net 
seem  that  this  proceeding  induced  the  ancient  inhabitants  to 
avail  themselves  of  fire  in  working  copper;  they  persisted  in 
the  tedious  practice  of  hammeiing.  Yet  one  copper  axe, 
evidently  cast,  and  resembling  those  taken  from  the  mounds 
of  Ohio,  has  been  ploughed  up  near  Auburn,  in  Cayuga,  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  This  specimen,  which  bears  no  trace  of 
use,  may  date  from  the  earlier  times  of  European  colonisation. 
It  certainly  would  be  wrong  to  place  much  stress  on  such  an 
isolated  case."  ^  The  well-known  volume  of  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis  furnishes  illustrations  of  copper  and  other  metallic 
relics  from  the  mounds  of  Ohio.^  Mr.  J.  T.  Short  engraves  a 
variety  of  similar  relics  from  Wisconsin,  where  they  appear  co 
have  been  found  in  unusual  abundance.*  In  the  Annual 
Eeport  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin  for  1878  the 
copper  implements  in  their  collection  are  stated  to  number  one 
hundred  and  ninety  implements,  classified  as  spear  or  dirk 
heads,  knives,  chisels,  axes,  augurs,  gads,  and  drills,  in  addition 
to  beads,  tubes,  and  other  personal  ornaments  made  out  of 
thin  sheets  of  hammered  copper.  Dr.  J.  W.  Foster  has 
furnished  illustrations  of  the  various  types  from  the  valuable 
collection  of  Mr.  Perkins.^  Colonel  Charles  C.  Jones  engi'aves 
a  specimen  of  the  rarely  known  copper  implements  of  Georgia ; " 
and  Dr.  Abbott  shows  the  prevailing  forms  of  the  same 
class  of  relics  found  along  the  whole  northern  Atlantic  sea- 

'  Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States,  p.  259. 

*  Smithsonian  Report,  1572,  p.  353.     The  imiwrtant  word  not  supplied  here,  it 
is  obvious  from  the  context  is  absent  by  a  mere  typographical  error. 

*  Andenl  Mmvmnents  of  the  Mississippi  ValUij,  vol.  i.  pp.  196-207.  _.-- ,. 

*  The  North  Americans  of  Antiquity,  ^.  95. 

"  Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States,  pp.  251-259. 

*  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians  p.  225.  ~    ~~ 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


i8i 


board.^  All  tell  the  same  tale  of  rudest  manipulation  by 
a  people  ignoraLt  of  the  working  of  metals  with  the  use  of 
fire. 

And  yet  the  native  copper  was  ready  to  hand  in  a  form 
and  in  quantity  unknown  elsewhere.  No  such  supplies  of  the 
pure  metal  invited  the  industry  of  the  first  Asiatic  or  European 
metallurgists.  The  Cassiterides  yielded  in  abundance  the  ores 
of  copper  and  tin,  but  these  had  to  be  smelted  and  worked 
with  all  the  accumulated  results  of  tentative  skill  before  they 
yielded  the  copper  or  more  useful  bronze.  By  whom  or  where 
this  first  knowledge  was  mastered  is  unknown :  the  tendency 
is  still  to  look  to  Asia,  perhaps  to  Phcenicit.,  or  to  the  still 
undetermined  cradle  of  the  Aryans,  wherever  that  may  prove 
to  have  been,  for  the  birth  of  this  phase  of  metallurgic  art 
which  constituted  so  important  a  stage  in  early  civilisation. 
Yet  if  the  ancient  American  missed  it,  it  was  not  for  want  of 
opportunity.  Examples  of  the  accidental  fusion  of  copper  by 
the  sacrificial  firt  =;  of  the  Mound-Builders  repeatedly  occur  in 
the  mounds  of  the  Ohio  valley.  But  no  gifted  native  alchymist 
was  piompt  to  read  the  lesson  and  turn  it  to  practical  account. 

Asia  and  Europe  appear  to  have  passed  by  a  natural 
transition,  step  by  step,  from  their  rudest  stages  of  lithic  art 
to  polished  stone,  and  then  to  implements  of  metal.  Some  of 
the  steps  were  doubtless  very  slow.  Worsaae  believed  that 
the  use  of  bronze  prevailed  in  Denmark  "  five  or  six  hundred 
years  before  the  birth  of  Christ."  ^  In  Egypt  it  undoubtedly 
was  known  at  a  greatly  earlier  date.  I  still  incline  to  my 
early  formed  opinion,  that  gold  was  the  first  metal  worked. 
Found  in  nuggets,  it  could  scarcely  fail  to  attract  attention. 
It  was  easy  to  fashion  into  shape ;  and  some  of  the  small, 
highly  polished  stone  hammers  seem  fitter  for  this  than  any 
other  work.*  The  abundant  gold  ornaments  of  the  New  World 
at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  Mexico  and  Peru  accord  with 
this  idea.  The  like  attraction  of  the  bright  native  copper,  is 
proved  by  its  employment  among  the  southern  Indians  for  per- 
sonal ornaments ;  and  in  this  way  the  economic  use  of  the 
metals  may  have  been  first  suggested. 

From  the  working  of  gold  nuggets,  or  of  virgin  copper,  with 


't 


^  Privntive  Industry,  pp.  411-422 


Frimitive  Industry,  pp.  411-422.  '■'  Primmval  Antiquities,  p.  13J>. 

Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  Ist  ed.  1851,  p.  214  ;  2d  ed.  vol.  i.  p. 


1'  ■  V'' 

;  ;       ■■■  -    :    ■ 

1,                     I 

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«       «  ^ 

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'  1,  ■■   .• 

t82 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


the  hammer,  to  the  smelting  of  the  ores,  was  no  trifling  step ; 
but  that  knowledge  once  gained,  the  threshold  of  civilisation 
and  true  progress  had  been  reached.  The  history  of  the  grand 
achievement  is  embodied  in  the  earliest  myths  both  of  the  Old 
and  the  New  World.  Tubal-cain,  Diedalus,  Hephaestus, 
Vulcan,  Vcelund,  Galant,  the  Luno  or  the  Celtic  Fiugal,  and 
Wayland,  the  Saxon  smith-god,  are  but  legendary  variations 
of  the  first  worker  by  whom  the  gift  of  metallurgy  was 
communicated  to  man ;  and  so  too  the  New  World  has  its 
Quetzalcoatl,  or  Vcelund  of  the  Aztecs,  the  divine  instructor  of 
their  ancestors  in  the  use  of  the  metals.  But  whatever  be 
the  date  of  this  wise  instructor,  no  share  of  the  knowledge 
communicated  by  him  to  that  favoured  race  appears  to  have 
ever  penetrated  northward  of  the  Mexican  Gulf. 

It  is  vain  to  urgo  such  dubious  evidence  as  the  fancied 
traces  of  a  mould-ridge,  or  the  solitary  example  of  a  casting  of 
uncertain  age,  in  proof  of  a  knowledge  of  the  furnace  and  the 
crucible  among  any  North  American  tribe.  Everywhere  in 
Europe  the  soil  yields  not  only  its  buried  relics  of  gold, 
copper,  and  bronze,  but  also  stone  and  bronze  moulds  in  which 
implements  and  personal  ornaments  were  cast.  When  the 
ingenious  systeraatising  of  Danish  archaeologists  had  familiarised 
the  students  of  antiquity  with  the  idea  of  a  succession  of 
Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron  periods  in  the  history  of  Europe,  the 
question  naturally  followed,  whether  metallurgy  did  not  begin, 
there,  as  elsewhere,  in  the  easy  working  of  virgin  copper.  Dr. 
Latham  accordingly  remarked,  in  his  Ethnology  of  the,  British 
Islands,  on  the  supposition  that  no  unalloyed  copper  relics  had 
been  found  in  Britain :  "  Stone  and  bone  first ;  then  bronze,  or 
copper  and  tin  combined ;  but  no  copper  alone.  I  cannot  get 
over  this  hiatus;  cannot  imagine  a  metallurgic  industry 
beginning  with  the  use  of  alloys."  It  was  a  mistake,  how- 
ever, to  assume  that  no  copper  relics  had  ever  been  found. 
At  first  it  had  oeen  taken  for  granted  that  all  such  implements 
were  of  the  familiar  alloy.  But  so  soon  as  the  importance  of 
the  distinction  was  recognised,  examples  of  pure  copper  were 
forthcoming.  So  early  rs  1822,  Sir  David  Brewster  described 
a  large  axe  of  peculiar  shape,  and  formed  of  copper,  which  was 
found  in  the  hard  black  till-clay  at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet 
under   Eatho   Bog,    near   Edinburgh.       This   is    no   solitary 


PRE- ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


183 


example.  The  Scottish  Museum  of  Antiquities  has  other 
implements  of  pure  copper ;  and  Sir  William  Wilde  states  in 
reference  to  the  collections  of  tl.e  Royal  Irish  Academy:  "upon 
careful  examination,  it  has  been  found  that  thirty  of  the 
rudest,  and  apparently  the  very  oldest  celts,  are  of  red,  almost 
unalloyed  copper  " ;  as  is  also  the  case  with  some  other  rudely 
formed  tools  in  the  same  collection. 

It  was  a  temporary  advantage,  doubtless,  but  a  real  loss,  to 
the  Indian  miners  of  Lake  Superior  that  they  found  the  native 
copper  there  ready  to  hand,  a  pure  ductile  metal,  probably 
regarded  by  them  as  only  a  variety  of  stone  which — nnlike  its 
rocky  matrix, — they  could  bend,  or  hammer  into  shape,  with- 
out fracture.  Its  value  as  such  was  widely  appreciated. 
Copper  tools,  everywhere  retaining  the  specs,  or  larger  crystals 
of  silver,  characteristic  of  the  Lake  Superior  veins,  tell  of  the 
diifusion  of  the  metal  from  that  single  source  throughout  all 
the  vast  regions  watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
and  eastward  by  lake  and  river  to  the  gulf  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson. 

There  was  a  time  when  this  traffic  must  have  been 
systematically  carried  on ;  when  the  ancient  miners  of  Lake 
Superior  worked  its  rich  copper  veins  with  industrious  zeal ; 
and  when,  probably  as  part  of  the  same  aggressive  energy,  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio  was  filling  with  a  settled  population ;  its 
great  earthworks  were  in  process  of  construction,  and  a  native 
raco  entered  on  a  course  that  gave  promise  of  social  progress. 
But,  from  whatever  cause,  the  work  of  the  old  miners  was 
abruptly  terminated ;  ^  the  race  of  the  Mounds  vanished  from 
the  scenes  of  their  ingenious  toil ;  and  rudest  barbarism 
resumed  its  sway  over  the  whole  northern  continent.  The 
same  Aryan  race  that,  before  the  dawn  of  history,  before  the 
Sanskrit-speaking  people  of  India,  or  the  Zends  of  Persia, 
entered  on  their  southern  homes,  spoke  in  its  own  cradle- 
land  the  mother  tongue  of  Sanskrit,  Greek,  Celtic,  and  German, 
at  length  broke  up  and  went  forth  on  its  long  wanderings. 
Whatever  peoples  it  found  there  ;  they  were  replaced  by  Celts. 
Romans,  Greeks,  Slaves,  and  Teutons,  who  broke  in  upon  the  bar 
barism  of  prehistoric  Europe ;  displaced  the  older  races,  Allophy- 
lian.  Neolithic,  Iberian,  Finnic,  or  by  whatever  other  name  we 

1  Prehistoric  Man,  3rd  ed.  vol.  i.  pp.  203-228.' 


''l 


■--4; 


'  ■-  <?  i 


1 84 


PRE-ARYAN  AMERICAN  MAN 


lit? .-  •  '•  ^ 


1.  (■ 


..aiiii 


? 


p  ?:■■•; '    ■  'I 
la.- ■«!'.•;■..■  ,  -i 

i'  ■      t'i    \  ;■■■    ■    ifir 


may  find  it  convenient  to  designate  them ;  but  not  without 
a  considerable  intermingling  of  the  old  blood  With  that  of 
the  intruders.  The  sparsely  settled  continent  gradually  filled 
up.  Forests  were  cleared,  swamps  drained,  rivers  confined  by 
artificial  banks  and  levies  to  their  channels ;  and  there  grew 
up  in  their  new  homes  the  Celtic,  Classic,  Slavic,  and  Teutonic 
tongues,  with  all  the  varied  culture  and  civilisation  which  they 
represent.  Agriculture,  the  special  characteristic  of  the  whole 
Aryan  race,  flourished.  They  brought  with  them  the  cereals ; 
and,  with  plenty,  the  favoured  race  multiplied,  till  at  length  it 
has  grown  straitened  within  the  bounds  of  the  old  continent 
which  it  had  made  its  own.  > 

With  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  one  great  cycle, 
that  of  Europe's  mediaeval  era,  came  to  an  end ;  and  then  we 
trace  the  first  beginnings  of  that  fresh  scattering  of  the  Aryan 
clan,  and  its  new  western  movement  across  the  Ocean.  It 
seems  in  a  very  striking  manner  once  more  to  repeat  itself 
under  our  own  eyes,  as  we  look  abroad  on  the  millions 
crowding  from  Europe  and  filling  up  the  western  wilderness ; 
hewing  down  the  forests,  cultivating  the  waste  prairies,  and 
everywhere  displacing  the  rude  aborigines :  yet  here  also 
not  without  some  interblending  of  the  races ;  though  the  two 
types,  Aryan  and  pre-Aryan,  meet  under  all  the  repellent 
influences  of  high  civilisation  and  the  lowest  barbarism.  In 
the  Canadian  North -West  alone,  the  young  prorince  of 
Manitoba  l^egan  its  political  existence  with  a  population 
of  between  10,000  and  12,000  half-breeds;  in  part  at  least, 
a  hardy  race  of  hunters  and  farmers;  the  representatives  of 
what  is  as  certainly  destined  to  constitute  an  element  in  the 
new  phases  which  the  Aryan  race  already  begins  to  assume, 
under  the  diverse  conditions  of  a  new  continent,  as  that  curious 
trace  of  Europe's  pre-Aryan  people  which  attracted  the 
observant  attention  of  Tacitus  among  the  ancient  Britons; 
and  which  we  are  learning  to  recognise,  with  a  new  signifi- 
cance, as  the  Melanochroi :  the  representatives  of  the  old  half- 
breed  of  Europe's  prehistoric  dawn. 


THE  ^ESTHETIC  FACULTY  IN  ABOKIGINAL  EACES 


The  ingenious  arts  of  the  palaeolithic  cave-dwellers  of  the 
V^z^re  abundantly  prove  that  it  needed  no  wanderers  from  the 
cradle-lands  of  Old  World  civilisation  to  that  strange  Atlantis 
lying  in  the  engirdling  ocean  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
to  engraft  their  artistic  capacities  on  the  "  Achoriens  "  by  whom 
it  was  peopled.  The  innate  faculty  for  art  has  manifested 
itself  in  individuals  and  in  nations,  among  widely  diverse 
Assyrian,  Egyptian,  Hellenic,  Arabian,  and  mediaeval  races,  as 
in  later  Frank,  Fleming,  and  Dane,  with  unaccountable 
partiality.  For  its  absence,  or  very  subordinate  manifesta- 
tion, is  seen  to  be  compatible  with  the  highest  intellectual 
triumphs  in  other  directions.  The  arts  of  Britain's  Allophylise 
manifest  no  instinctive  aim  at  a  reproduction  of  familiar 
natural  objects,  such  as  is  characteristic  of  some  races  at  a 
very  primitive  stage.  Nor  was  it  till  a  recent  generation  that 
the  stock  from  which  Shakespeare  and  Newton  sprung  put 
forth  its  first  efforts  at  rivalling  the  great  masters  of  the 
Renaissance,  or  entering  into  competition  with  the  skilled 
painters  of  the  Low  Countries.  It  is  otherwise  with  the 
nations  of  the  New  World.  The  highest  stage  of  civilisation 
attained  there  is  a  very  partial  one.  But  among  the  various 
characteristics  of  the  American  aborigines  which  invite 
attention,  the  very  wide  diffusion  of  an  aptitude  for  imitative 
art  is  one  that  merits  carefiil  jtudy  as  typical  of  American 
man.  It  is  not,  indeed,  to  be  overlooked  that  if  due  allowance 
be  made  for  the  narrow  range  in  degrees  of  civilisation  among 
the  races  of  the  New  World,  the  same  diversity  of  racial 


i'       r        •  »; 


,  -;   *'. 


-■.'^' 


v.::;'*1 


f. ., 


i':  \ 


WK\t 

p 

H>f 

i'^i-.r 

'i  •■      '' 

Hfi' 

* 

■ 

H  'i*!'   ' 

ili'^M 

;,•  >■     » 


186 


T/IE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


characteristics  is  observable  there  as  elsewhere.  The  tendency, 
moreover,  of  civilisation  is  to  efface,  or  greatly  to  modify,  such 
distinctions.  Civilised  nations  habitually  borrow  the  arts  and 
imitate  the  social  habits  of  neighbouring  races,  or  accept  some 
common  standard  of  intellectual  and  moral  pre-eminence. 
Nevertheless,  while  the  capacity  for  imitative  art  is  neither 
peculiar  to  the  New  World,  nor  characteristic  of  all  its  diverse 
nationalities,  it  appears  to  be  more  generally  diffused  among 
the  races  of  America  than  elsewhere.  It  is  prevalent  among 
tribes  in  nearly  every  condition,  from  the  rude  Indian  nomad, 
or  the  Eskimo,  to  the  semi-civilised  Zufii,  and  the  skilled 
metallurgists  and  architects  of  Central  America  and  Peru. 

This  development  of  a  feeling  for  art  in  savage  races  is  at 
all  times  interesting  as  indicative  of  intellectual  capacity  and 
powers  of  observation,  even  when  manifested,  as  it  frequently 
is,  within  a  very  narrow  range.  It  is  by  no  means  a  general 
characteristic  either  of  savage  or  civilised  man.  Yet  recent 
archaeological  discoveries  prove  it  to  have  been  one  of  the 
earliest  forms  of  intellectual  activity  among  the  cave-dwellers 
of  Europe's  palaeolithic  dawn.  The  most  civilised  nations 
have  differed  widely  in  the  manifestations  of  this  aesthetic 
faculty.  The  city  of  Dante  was  the  Athens  of  the  Middle 
Ages  in  art  as  well  as  letters  ;  while  the  land  which  gave  birth 
to  Shakespeare  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  had  a  native 
school  cf  painting  or  sculpture  till  late  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  like  differences  are  observable  among  bp,rbarous  nations. 
Eaces  are  met  with,  to  whom  the  drawing  of  a  familiar  object 
suggests  no  idea  of  the  original ;  while  others,  in  nearly  the 
same  stage  of  savage  life,  habitually  practise  the  representa- 
tion of  natural  objects  in  the  decorative  details  of  their  imple- 
ments and  articles  of  dress,  and  in  the  carvings  which  furnish 
occupation  for  many  leisure  hours. 

A  special  interest  attaches  to  the  disclosures  of  archaiology 
relative  to  the  prehistoric  races  of  Europe,  owing  to  the  evidence 
thereby  furnished  of  striking  resemblances  in  their  arts  and  con- 
ditions of  life  to  those  of  uncultured  races  of  our  own  day.  In 
many  respects  it  seems  as  though  the  present  condition  of  some 
existing  race^  of  America  only  repeats  that  of  Europe's  infancy. 
But  so  far  as  imitative  art  is  concerned,  the  analogy  fails 
when  the  more  recent  contents  of  the  barrow?,  cairns,  and  grave 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


187 


mounds  of  preliistoric  Europe  are  brourjht  into  comparison 
witli  those  of  the  New  World.  If,  indeed,  we  leave  behind  us 
the  age  of  cromlechs,  kistvaens,  cairns,  and  barrows,  and  seek 
to  estimate  aright  the  disclosures  of  artistic  ability  pertaining 
to  the  far  lore  ancient  men  of  Europe's  Mammoth  and  Rein- 
deer periods,  it  is  otherwise.  But,  before  reviewing  the 
wonderfully  definite  glimpses  thereby  furnished  of  tribes  of 
rude  yet  skilful  hunters  of  that  post-glacial  world,  it  may  be 
of  some  help,  in  the  comparisons  which  they  suggest,  to  recall 
impressions  derived  from  a  study  of  that  Stone  period  in 
whicli  the  natives  of  the  liritish  Islands  appear  to  have  approxi- 
mated, in  many  respects,  to  the  Eed  Indian  nomad  of  the 
American  forest. 

One  little-heeded  point  of  evidence  of  this  correspondence, 
to  which  I  long  since  drew  attention,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
traces  of  artificial  modification  of  the  head-form  in  ancient 
British  crania ;  a  comparison  of  which  with  skulls  recovered 
from  Indian  grave  mouniis  helps  to  throw  light  on  the  habits 
and  social  life  of  the  British  Islands  in  prehistoric  times.  In 
'Ilustration  of  this  I  may  refer  to  an  exploration,  now  of  old 
date.  In  the  early  summer  of  1 8  5 1, 1  learned  of  the  accidental 
exposure  of  a  stone  cist,  in  trenching  a  garden  at  Juniper 
Green,  a  few  miles  distant  from  Edinburgh,  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  spot.  There,  under  a  slightly  elevated  knoll 
— the  remains,  in  all  ^>iobability,  of  the  ancient  barrow, — lay 
a  rude  sarcophagus  of  unhewn  sandstone,  within  which  was  a 
male  skeleton,  still  in  good  preservation.  The  body  had  been 
laid  on  its  left  side,  with  the  arms  folded  over  the  breast,  and 
the  knees  drawn  up  so  as  to  touch  the  elbows.  A  flat  water- 
worn  stone  formed  the  pillow,  from  which  the  skull  had  rolled 
to  the  bottom  of  the  cist.  Above  the  right  shoulder  stood  a 
gracefully  formed  clay  vase,  cCiitaining  only  a  little  sand  and 
black  dust,  the  remains,  it  may  be  presumed,  of  food  which  it 
originally  contained  when  deposited  there  by  affectionate 
hands,  in  some  long-forgotten  century.  It  was  recovered  un- 
injured, and  is  now  deposited,  along  with  the  skull,  in  the 
Archfeological  Museum  of  Edinburgh. 

The  primitive  grave,  thus  discovered  within  sight  of  the 
Scottish  capital,  has  a  curious  interest  as  a  link  connecting  the 
present  with  a  remote  past      But  the   special  point  which 


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throws  light  on  the  habits  of  the  ancient  race,  is  a  parieto- 
oecip'tal  llattening,  such  as  is  of  common  occurrenco  in  skulls 
recovered  from  American  ossuaries  and  grave  mounds.  This 
feature  is  clearly  traceable  to  the  use  of  the  cradle-board  in 
infancy.  The  mode  of  nursing  the  Indian  papoose,  by  band- 
aging it  on  a  cradle-board,  is  specially  adapted  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  a  nomad  forest  life.  The  infant  is  carried  safely, 
slung  on  the  mother's  back,  leaving  her  hands  free  ;  and  in 
the  pauses  of  her  joun.ey,  or  when  engaged  in  field  work,  it 
can  be  laid  aside,  or  suspended  from  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
without  risk  of  injury.  But  one  result  of  this  custom  is  that 
the  soft  bones  of  the  skull  are  subjected  to  a  continuous 
pressure  in  one  direction  during  the  whole  term  of  suckling, 
which  is  necessarily  protracted,  among  a  nomad  people,  much 
longer  than  is  usual  in  settled  communities ;  and  to  this  cause 
is  undoubtedly  traceable  the  occipital  flattening  of  many  skulls 
recovered  from  European  cists  and  barrows.  Dr.  L.  A.  Gosse, 
after  discussing  in  his  Essai  sur  les  deformations  artificiellcs  du 
Crdnc  certain  artificial  modifications  of  the  skull,  of  common 
occurrence  among  the  aborigines  of  the  New  World,  thus  pro- 
ceeds :  "  Passant  dans  I'ancient  continent,  ne  tardons-nous 
pas  a  reconnaitre  que  ce  berceau  plat  et  solide  y  a  produit  des 
efifets  analogues.  Les  anciens  habitants  de  la  Scandinavie  et  de 
la  Caledonie  devaient  s'en  servir,  si  Ton  en  juge  par  la  forme 
de  leurs  criines."^  ' 

Full-sized  representations  of  the  Juniper  Green  skull,  and 
others  of  the  same  type,  are  given  in  Crania  Britannica? 
Bateman  also,  in  his  Ten  Years'  Diggvags  in  Celtic  and  Savon 
Gravehills,  concurs  with  earlier  writers  in  ascribing  to  the  use 
of  the  cradle-board  the  flattened  occiput  observed  in  skulls 
recovered  from  British  barrows.  The  employment,  indeed,  of 
the  cradle-board  among  prehistoric  races  of  Northern  Europe, 
and  their  nomad  life  of  which  it  is  so  characteristic  a  feature, 
may  now  be  considered  as  generally  recognised.  The  imple- 
ments and  pottery  recovered  from  graves  of  the  period  show 
their  constructors  to  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  devoid  of 
any  knowledge  of  metals ;  or,  at  best,  in  the  mere  rudimentary 

But  the  Juniper  Green  cist,  that  of 


stage  of  metallurgic  arts. 


*  JEssai  sur  les  deformations  artifidelles  du  Crdne,  p.  74. 
2  Crania  Britannica,  vi.  PI.  15 ;  xiv,  PI.  12  ;  xxxii.  PI.  42. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


189 


tlio  large  Staffordshire  barrow  of  Wotton  Hill,  that  of  Kound- 
way  Hill,  North  Wilts,  another  of  Green   Lowe,  Derbyshire, 
and  othci'8  described  in  tlio  works  above  referred  to,  while  all 
disclosing    evidenro   of   correspondence  in  habits   and    social 
condition  between  ancier-t  races  of  the  British  Isles  and  the 
Indians    of    the    New    World,   also    furnished    cliaracteristic 
examples  of  their  fictile  ware ;    and  here   the  analogy  fails. 
There    are,    indeed,    abundant    specimens    of   broken    Indian 
pottery  on  many  of  their  deserted  village  sites,  which  might 
be  mingled   with   the   fragments   of  a  like  kind  from  early 
European  grave  mounds  without  attracting  special  attention. 
Simple  chevron  and  saltier  or  liorring-bone  patterns,  scratched 
with  a  pointed  bone  on  the  soft  clay,  are  cr  imon  to  both ; 
and  many  of  the  more  elaborate  linear  and  bead  patterns  of 
the  primitive  British  potters  reappear  with  sljght  variation  on 
the  Indian   ware.       But    besides    those,   few   ancient    Indian 
village  sites  fail  to  yield  fragments  of  pottery,  including  clay 
tobacco  pipes,  ornamented  with  more  or  less  rude  imitations 
of  the  human  face  and  of  familiar  animals,  such  as  the  beaver, 
the  bear,  the  lynx,  and  the  deer.     Before  my  first  visit  to  the 
American  continent,  while  still  preoccupied  with  tlie  arts  of 
the  ancient  British  savage,  and  the  more  graceful  devices  of 
the  metallurgists  of  Europe's  Bronze  period,  I  noted  the  pre- 
valence of  a  conventional  ornamentation,  consisting  mainly  of 
improvements  on  what  may  be  called  the  accidents  of  manu- 
facture,   or    possibly    of    linear    decorations    borrowed    from 
patterns  of  the  plaiter  or  knitter.^     No  attempt  appears   to 
have  been  made  by  the  old  European  decorator  at  such  imita- 
tions of  familiar  natural  objects  as  are  now  known  to  have 
been  practised  among  the  far  more  ancient  cave-dwellers  of 
Europe,  the  contemporaries  of  the  mammoth  and  the  woolly 
rhincceios,  and  which  are  familiar  to  us  in  the  primitive  arts 
of  the  New  World.     Objects  recovered  from  the  mounds  of 
the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  valleys,  as  well  as  the  diversified 
products  of  the  native  artificers  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  attract 
special  attention  by  their  endless  variety  of  imitative  design ; 
and  similar  skill  and  ingenuity  are  apparent  in  the  pottery, 
the  plaited  manufactures,  the  stone  and  bone  carvings,  and 
even  in  many  of  the  great  animal  mounds  and  other  earth- 

•*  Vide  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  2d  ed.  i.  495. 


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THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


works  of  the  North  American  continent.  An  observant 
recognition  of  analogies,  traceable  in  the  rhetorical  construc- 
tion of  many  American  Indian  holophrasms,  appears  to  be 
only  another  phase  of  this  widely  prevalent  imitative  fpculty. 
At  the  same  time,  whether  we  study  the  physical  form  or  the 
intellectual  characteristics  of  native  American  races,  it  becomes 
more  and  more  apparent  that  the  New  "World  has  been 
peopled  from  different  centres,  and  still  presents  essentially 
distinct  types  of  race.  It  had  its  ferocious  Caribs,  its 
Mexicans,  with  their  revolting  human  sacrifices  and  other 
bloody  rites,  and  its  stealt]  7,  treacherous  nomads,  less  coura- 
geous but  not  less  cruel.  But  it  has  also  gentler  races,  in 
whom,  as  in  the  Peruvians,  the  Zunis,  and  others  of  the 
Pueblo  Indians,  the  testhetic  faculty  predominates,  and  over- 
lays with  many  a  graceful  concomitant  the  utilitarian  pro- 
ducts of  their  industrial  arts. 

Whether  barbarous  or  civilised  naiions  are  classified  in 
accordance  with  their  linguistic  affinities,  both  are  found  to 
manifest  other  specialties  according  with  the  diverse  families 
of  speech.  The  differences  which  separate  the  Aryan  from 
the  Semitic  races  are  not  more  marked  than  the  intellectual 
and  moral  divergencies  among  barbarous  tribes.  But  while 
this  is  apparent  on  the  American  continent,  its  diverse  races 
appear  to  be  characterised  by  a  more  general  aptitude  for 
artistic  imitation  than  is  observable  elsewhere,  except  among 
the  long-civilised  nations  of  the  Old  World,  whose  composite 
vocabularies  reveal  the  sources  of  many  borrowed  arts.  The 
Peruvian  potter  sketched  and  modelled  endless  quaint  devices 
in  clay ;  the  Zunian  decorated  his  gracefully  fashioned  ware 
with  highly  effective  parti  -  coloured  designs ;  and  the  old 
Mound- Builder  wrought  in  intaglio  on  his  domestic  and 
sepulchral  vessels  conventional  flower  patterns;  and  in  his 
miniature  sculptures  reproduced  the  fauna  of  an  area  extend- 
ing from  the  Ohio  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Native  artificers 
of  widely  different  American  races  manifest  this  imitative 
faculty.  Not  only  is  the  Indian  pipe  sculptor  found  copying 
animate  and  inanimate  objects  with  an  observant  eye  and  a 
ready  hand,  but  even  the  linear  patterns  on  pottery  and  straw 
basket  -  vvork  are  frequently  made  to  assume  combinations 
obviously  suggested  by  flowers  and  other  familiar  objects  of 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 

nature.  The  perception  of  such  analogies,  and  even  the 
capacity  for  appreciating  the  linear  or  pictorial  representation 
of  objects  on  a  flat  surface,  varies  greatly  in  different  races. 
Travellers  have  repeatedly  described  the  manifestation  by 
savage  race?  of  an  utter  incapacity  to  comprehend  pictured 
representations.  Mr.  Oldfield,  for  example,  tells  how  a  large 
coloured  engraving  of  a  native  of  New  Holland  was  shown  to 
some  Australians.  "  One  declared  it  to  be  a  ship,  another  a 
kangaroo,  and  so  on,  not  one  of  a  dozen  identifying  the  por- 
trait as  having  any  connection  with  himself."  ^  The  artistic 
faculty  is  unquestionably  hereditary.  There  are  artistic 
families  and  artistic  races.  But  if  so,  the  pictorial  skill  of 
the  palaeolithic  cave-dwellers  of  Western  Europe  was  not 
transmitted  to  their  successors.  Guided  not  only  by  a  com- 
parison of  their  tools  and  weapons  with  those  of  the  Neolithic 
period,  but  also  by  cranial  and  other  physical  evidence,  we  are 
led  to  assume  the  absence  of  affinity  between  the  men  of  the 
Perigord  caves  and  the  greatly  more  modern  races  of  Europe's 
later  Stone  period ;  and  their  lack  of  the  imitative  faculty,  so 
characteristic  of  the  elder  race,  adds  confirmation  to  this 
opinion. 

Artistic  sympathies,  and  a  capacity  for  high  achievements 
in  painting  and  sculpture,  are  neither-  the  direct  results  of 
civilisation,  nor  in  many  cases  the  product  of  culture  and 
training.  From  the  days  of  Giotto,  the  shepherd  boy,  to 
those  of  Thorwaldsen,  Wilkie,  and  Turner,  art-power  is  not 
only  seen  to  be  a  direct  and  exceptional  gift  of  nature,  but  it 
is  frequently  the  product  of  a  singularly  partial  intellectual 
development.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Michael  Angelo  are 
examples  of  men  of  rare  and  comprehensive  genius,  who 
sought  in  art  the  form  in  which  to  give  expression  to  their 
inany-sided  powers.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  instances  are 
not  rare  of  artists  like  Thorv^aldsen  or  Turner,  who,  except 
within  the  range  of  their  own  special  art,  seemed  exceptionally 
defective  in  the  exercise  of  ordinary  mental  powers.  The 
same  is  true  of  races  as  of  individuals.  Some  show  an 
aptitude  ia:  art  wholly  wanting  in  others,  who  nevertheless 
equal  or  surpass  them  in  more  important  qualities.  The 
aesthetic  faculty  may,  indeed,  be  described  as  curiously 
1  Tram.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  N.S.  iii.  227. 


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capricious  in  its  manifestations.     The  Papuans  of  New  Guinea 
and  of  New  Caledonia,  a  race  of  Negrillos,  in  some  points 
presenting  analogies  to  the  Australian,  are  nevertheless  re- 
markable for  a  seemingly  instinctive  ingenuity  and  aptitude 
for  art.     Mr.  Wallace  describes  them  as  contrasting  with  the 
Malay  race  in  the  habitual  decoration  of  their  canoes,  houses, 
and   almost  every   domestic  utensil,  with  elaborate  carving. 
The  Fijians,  who  are  allied  to  this  Negrillo  race,  present  in 
many  respects  an  unfavourable  contrast  to  the  true  Polynesian. 
In  their  physiognomy  and  whole    physical  aspect  they  are 
inferior  to  other  island  races  of  the  Pacific;  and  are  further 
notable  for  repulsive  habits  and  a  general  condition  of  social 
and  moral  degradation.      But  their   ferocity  and   the  cruel 
customs  in  which  they  so  strikingly  differ  from  the  Malays 
are  vices  of  a  vigorous  race.      They  have    frequently   been 
observed  to  indicate  energy  capable  of  being  directed  to  useful 
ends,  as  has  been  the  case  with  the  Maori  cannibals  of  New 
Zealand,  and  was  seen  of  old  in  the  Huns  and  the  Northmen, 
whose  descendants  are  now  among  the  most  civilised  races  of 
the  world.     It  is  obvious,  at  any  rate,  that  the  savage  vices  of 
the  Fijians  are  compatible  with  considerable  skill  in  such  arts 
as  pertain  to  their  primitive  condition.     Their  musical  instru- 
ments are  superior  to  those  of  the  Polynesians,  and  include 
the  pan-pipe  and  others  unknown  in  the  islands  beyond  their 
range.      Their  pottery  exhibits  great  variety  of  form ;    and 
some  of  the  vessels   combined  in  groups  present  a  curious 
correspondence  to  familiar  examples  of  Peruvian  art.     Their 
fishing-nets    and   lines    are  remarkable   for  neat  and  skilful 
workmanship,  and  they  carry  on  agriculture  to  a  considerable 
extent.     "  Indeed,"  remarked  the  ethnologist  of  the  United 
States  Expedition,  in  summing  up  the  characteristics  of  the 
Fijians,  "  we  soon  began  to  perceive  that  the  people  were  in 
possession  of  almost  every  art  known  to  the  Polynesians,  and 
of  many  others  besides.      The  highly -finished  workmanship 
was  unexpected,  everything  being  executed  unt'l  recently,  and 
e^  en  now  for  the  most  part,  without  the  use  cf  iron.     In  the 
(  illection  of  implements  and  manufactures  brought  home  by 
le  Expedition,  the  observer  will   distinguish  in   the  Fijian 
division  something  like  a  school  of  arts  for  the  other  Pacific 
islands." 


IN  y>BORIGLYAL  RACES 


193 


All  this  has  ^o  be  kept  in  view,  in  any  attempt  to  gauge 
the  intellectual  development,  or  determine  the  degree  of 
civilisation,  of  the  palaeolithic  draughtsn-en  and  carvers  of  the 
Garonne.  One  of  the  scenes  introduced  by  M.  Figuier,  in  the 
fanciful  illusf.rations  of  his  L'Homme  primitif,  represents  a 
group  of  artists,  such  as,  except  for  their  costume,  might  -^ave 
be6n  sketched  from  the  students  of  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts. 
Their  mode  of  work  was  probably  much  more  akin  to  the 
intermittent  labours  of  the  Indian,  whose  elaborately  sculp- 
tured pipe  is  laid  aside,  and  resumed  again — often  after  pro- 
longed intervals, — before  it  receives  the  finishing  touch.  But 
though  the  drawings  and  the  carvings  of  those  primitive  artists 
alike  manifest  remarkable  skill  and  observant  imitation,  the 
.ormer  are  the  objects  of  special  interest.  Their  carvings 
appear  to  have  been  executed,  with  rare  exceptions,  for  the 
decoration  of  favourite  implements  and  weapons,  in  accordance, 
with  a  practice  common  to  many  diverse  races  and  conditions 
of  society.  But  the  drawings  have  no  such  motive.  They 
more  nearly  correspond  to  the  sketch  or  drawing  from  nature 
of  the  modern  artist ;  and  furnish  evidence  of  peculiar  attri- 
butes, strikingly  distinguishing  the  race  of  that  remote  age 
from  most  others  that  have  succeeded  them. 

Certain  it  is  that,  so  far  as  present  evidence  goes,  the 
greatly  prolonged  Neolithic  period  was  characterised  by  no 
such  artistic  feeling  or  imitative  skill.  Specimens  of  the 
ingenious  handiwork  of  the  artificers  of  Europe's  later  Stone 
age  abound.  We  have  numerous  relics  from  the  kitchen 
middens  of  Denmark,  the  pile  villager  of  Switzerland,  the  cran- 
noges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  as  well  as  the  varied  contents 
of  cromlechs,  cists,  cairns,  and  barrows,  diligently  explored 
throughout  Europe.  But  no  such  examples  of  carvings,  or 
graven  representations  of  animals  or  other  natural  objects,  have 
been  found,  The  "clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter"  is  a 
familiar  symbol  of  plastic  response  to  the  will  of  the  designer. 
It  is,  indeed,  easier  for  the  practised  modeller  to  fashion  the  clay 
into  any  desired  form,  than  to  draw  it,  subject  to  rules  of  perspec- 
tive, on  a  flat  surface.  Linear  devices  and  the  representation  of 
objects  in  intaglio,  or  in  low  relief,  are  also  accomplished  with 
great  facility  on  the  soft  clay.  Hence  the  art  of  diverse  races, 
periods,  and  stages  of  progress,  finds  its  aptest  illustration  in 

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r//^"  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


fictile  ware;  and  the  imitative  faculty  of  widely  different 
American  races  may  be  studied  in  their  pottery.  In  Mexico, 
apparently,  we  have  to  look  for  the  northern  school  of  ceramic 
art.  There,  the  aggressive  races  cf  the  North  first  came  in 
contact  with  the  civilisation  of  Central  America ;  and  the 
native  aptitude  for  imitative  representation  received  a  fresh 
impulse.  The  Indian  modeller  learned  to  work  skilfully  in 
clay;  and  the  variety  of  design,  combined  with  the  quaint 
humour  of  the  caricaturist,  displayed  in  many  of  the  Mexican 
terra-cottas,  serves  to  indicate  this  class  of  work  as  specially 
significant  in  relation  to  the  present  inquiry.  The  inventive 
fancy  and  skill  of  the  Peruvian  potter  illustrates  in  ampler 
variety  the  progress  achieved  by  the  races  of  the  southern 
continent.  But  this  will  more  fitly  come  under  review  along 
with  other  examples  of  modern  native  art.  For  no  analogous 
^traces  of  contemporary  modelling  in  clay  furnish  material  for 
comparison  with  the  art  of  the  Palieolithic  era ;  though  the 
skill  of  its  bone  and  ivory  carvers  was  in  no  degree  inferior  to 
that  of  the  Mexican  or  Peruvian  modeller.  But  the  ajsthetic 
aptitude  of  that  old  race  of  Europe's  intellectual  dawn  is  in 
some  respects  unique.  In  so  far  as  their  ingenious  arts  furnifli 
any  evidence  of  true  racial  characteristics,  the  men  of  the 
Neolithic  era  inherited  none  of  their  aesthetic  feelings ;  nor  did 
the  imitative  faculty  manifest  itself  with  excej  tional  power  until 
the  advent  of  the  Aryan  races  brought  with  it  the  potentialities 
of  Hellenic  inspiration. 

;  The  absence  of  nearly  every  trace  of  imitative  art  in  the 
prehistoric  remains  of  Britain  has  already  been  noted.  It  made 
a  strong  impression  on  my  mind  at  an  early  stage  of  my 
archa3ological  researches  ;  for  this  characteristic  of  European  art 
extends  over  a  period  of  greatly  prolonged  duration,  marked  by 
the  advent  and  disappearance  of  races,  dissimilar  alike  in 
physical  and  mental  characteristics.  We  have  the  laboriously 
finished  implements  of  neolithic  art,  the  pottery  of  at  least  two 
distinct  races  seemingly  prior  to  the  Celts,  and  then  the  graceful 
artistic  productions  of  the  Bronze  period,  but  still  only  the 
rarest  traces  of  any  effort  at  imitation.  Long  before  the 
imitative  arts  of  the  American  continent  were  known  tfi  me 
otherwise  than  from  description,  I  remarked,  of  the  archaic  art  of 
the  first  British  metallurgists :  "  The  ornamentation   consists, 


;  IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 

almost  without  exception,  only  of  improvements  on  the 
accidents  of  manufacture.  The  incised  decorations  of  the 
pottery  appear,  in  many  cases,  to  have  been  produced  simply 
by  passing  twisted  cords  round  the  soft  clay.  More  compli- 
cated designs,  most  frequently  consisting  of  chevron,  saltire,  or 
herring-bone  patterns,  where  they  are  not  merely  the  results  of 
a  combination  of  such  lines,  have  been  suggested,  as  I  conceive, 
by  the  few  and  half-accidental  patterns  of  the  industrious 
female  knitter.  In  no  single  case  is  any  attempt  made  at  the 
imitation  of  a  leaf  or  flower,  of  animals,  or  any  other  simple 
objects."  ^  At  the  date  of  those  remarks  the  art  of  Europe's 
Pala'olithic  era  was  unknown ;  but  with  the  arts  of  other 
primitive  races,  and  especially  those  of  the  American  con  'nent, 
in  view,  I  then  adaed  :  "  It  is  curious,  indeed,  and  noteworthy,  to 
find  how  entirely  every  trace  of  imitative  art  is  absent  in 
British  archaic  relics ;  for  it  is  by  no  means  an  invariable 
characteristic  of  primitive  arts."  Dr.  Hoffman,  when  commenting 
on  aboriginal  American  art  among  the  Indians  of  California, 
adds  :  "  I  have  not  met  with  any  attempts  at  objective  drawings 
or  etchings  which  may  be  attributed  to  the  Tshuma  Indians,  who 
were  the  former  occupants  of  the  island ;  ^  but  ornamentations- 
upon  shells  and  bone  beads,  soap-stone  pipes,  shell  pendants,  and 
other  ornaments,  seem  to  consist  entirely  of  straight  or  zigzag 
lines,  cross  lines,  circles,"  etc.  The  earliest  examples  of  native 
metallurgy  in  Britain  are  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  the 
primitive  goldsmith ;  but  the  same  conventional  ornamentation 
which  occurs  on  early  pottery,  is  characteristic  of  the  beautiful 
personal  ornaments  of  gold  belonging,  for  the  most  part,  to  the 
first  period  of  working  in  metals.  It  is  not  till  a  late  stage  of 
the  European  Bronze  period  that  imitative  art  reappears,  and 
zoomorphic  decor  itions  become  common. 

The  discovery  in  1868,  and  subsequent  years,  of  numerous 
specimens  of  the  artistic  ability  of  the  cave-men  of  palaeolithic 
Europe,  revealed  a  singularly  interesting  phase  of  primitive 
history.  Eemains  of  the  so-called  "  Reindeer  period  "  are  now 
familiar  to  us  from  many  localities ;  for  the  range  of  this 
animal  in  palaeolithic  times  appears  to  have  extended  from  the 


■m 

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rtr    . 


'  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  i.  495. 

"^  I.e.  the  Island  of  Santa  Barbara.     See  "Remarks  on  Aboriginal  Art,"  in 
h'oc.  Davenport  Acad.  Nut.  Science,  iv.  121. 


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THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


Baltic  to  the  Pyrenees.  But  a  special  interest  was  conferred  on 
the  first  disclosures  by  the  locality  itself,  where  the  V(5z^re,  an 
affluent  of  the  river  Dordogne,  winds  its  way  through  the 
cretaceous  limestone,  in  which  occur  numerous  caves  and  rock- 
shelters,  rich  in  remains  of  primitive  art.  In  this  region  of 
South-wcotern  France,  where  many  historical  and  legendary 
associations  carry  the  fancy  back  to  elder  centuries,  the 
Dordogne  unites  with  the  Garonne  at  its  estuary  below  Bor- 
deaux. The  upper  waters  of  the  Dordogne  form  the  boundary 
between  Limousin  and  Auvergne,  and  the  Vdz^re  is  one  of  its 
highest  tributaries  in  Limousin.  There,  nearly  in  the  latitude 
of  Montreal,  but  with  the  genial  climate  which,  throughout  the 
whole  historic  period, has  characterised  Southern  France,  lie  the 
caves  of  Cro-Magnon,  La  Moustier,  Gorge  d'Enfer,  Laugerie 
Haute  and  Ba-sse,  and  La  Madelaine :  the  long-sealed  art 
galleries  of  prehistoric  Gaul.  The  reindeer  and  the  aurochs 
haunted  its  forests ;  the  woolly  rhinoceros  and  the  mammoth 
still  frequented  its  glades;  and  the  long-extinct  fossil  horse 
was  not  only  an  object  of  the  chase,  but  was  possibly  already 
subdued  to  the  companionship  and  service  of  man.  Such,  at 
least,  is  the  idea  suggested  by  a  scene  graven  on  the  portion  of 
a  baton  or  staff,  found  by  M.  Lartet  and  Mr.  Christy  in  La 
Madelaine  cave,  which  represents  a  man  between  two  horses' 
heads,  apparently  walking  past,  with  a  staff  or  spear  over  his 
shoulder.     Nor  were  those  man's  sole  contemporaries. 

The  drawings  of  the  ancient  cave-men  are  of  varying 
degrees  of  merit,  showing  the  efforts  of  the  unskilled  tyro  as 
well  as  of  the  practised  artist.  Some  of  the  examples  found 
at  Laugerie  Basse — as,  for  instance,  the  assumed  representa- 
tion of  an  ibex,  with  its  legs  folded  as  if  sitting, — are  the  crude 
efforts  of  unpractised  draughtsmen,  and  would  compare  unfavour- 
ably with  many  examples  of  graphic  art,  the  work  of  modern 
Eskimo  and  Indian  gravers  and  draughtsmen.  But  other  speci- 
mens— such  as  the  mammoth  from  La  Madelaine  cave,  and 
the  Alpine  ibex  and  reindeers  from  Laugerie  Basse,  in  Southern 
France,  and,  still  more,  the  remarkably  spirited  drawing  of  the 
reindeer  grazing,  from  the  Kesserloch,  near  Thayingen,  sketclip'1 
on  a  piece  of  reindeer  horn, — evince  powers  of  observation,  and 
a  ficedom  of  hand  in  sketching  from  nature,  such  as  would  be 
found  exceptional  among  pupils  of  our  best  training  schools  of  art. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


»97 


varying 
tyro  as 
found 
)resenta-- 
le  crude 
nfavour- 
niodern 
er  speci- 
ive,  and 
louthern 
g  of  the 
iketclipd 
iiou,  and 
'ould  be 
(Is  of  art 


On  this  point  my  friend,  Sir  Noel  Paton,  writes  me :  "I  entirely 
concur  in  your  view  as  to  the  immense  superiority  as  works  of  art 
of  the  engravings  on  horn  and  ivory  found  in  the  prehistoric  caves, 
over  any  modern  work  of  the  same  kind  which  I  have  seen,  exe- 
cuted by  the  Eskimos  or  other  savage  tribes  of  our  own  day.  As 
compared  with  the  latter,  the  prehistoric  productions  are  like  the 
swift  and  direct  studies  from  nature  of  Landseer,  compared  with 
the  laboured  scrawlings  from  memory  of  a  rather  dull  schoolboy." 

I  have  elsewhere  drawn  attention  to  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  drawings  of  the  Perigord  cave-men  and  their  palaeolithic 
contemporaries,  especially,  among  the  latter,  the  Kesserloch 
sketch  of  a  reindeer  grazing,  aie  left-hand  drawings.^  So  far 
as  this  class  of  evidence  is  of  value,  the  examples  from  the 
caves  in  the  valley  of  the  V(5z6re  are  exceptionally  numerous. 
There,  it  may  be,  a  family,  or  possibly  a  tribe,  dwelt,  among 
whom  left-handedness  prevailed  to  an  unusual  extent,  along 
with  a  degree  of  skill  and  dexterity,  such  as  is  frequently 
found  to  accompany  the  instinctive  use  of  the  left  hand. 

In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  the  recovery  of  evidences  of  a 
well-developed  aesthetic  faculty  among  the  men  of  Europe's 
Mammoth  and  Eeindeer  period,  furnishes  materials  for  many 
suggestive  inferences ;  for  we  shall  very  imperfectly  estimate 
the  significance  of  the  primitive  drawings  so  unexpectedly  dis- 
covered, if  we  regard  them  as  no  more  than  the  pastimes  of 
those  ancient  cave-men,  whose  artistic  ability  they  so  unmis- 
takably reveal.  They  are  rather  to  be  classed  with  the 
picture-writing  of  the  American  aborigines — including  its 
most  advi  need  Mexican  stage  abundantly  illustrated  in  Lord 
Kmgsborough's  folios, — as  one  of  the  primitive  supplements  of 
language  among  uncultured  races.  As  such  it  is  a  form  of 
visible  speech,  and  an  important  step  in  advance  of  the  stage 
of  gesture-language.  The  historical  value  of  the  palseolithic 
drawings  is  indisputable.  They  furnish  a  record,  more  trust- 
worthy than  any  written  chronicle,  of  the  strange  conditions  of 
life  in  a  region  familiar  to  us  throughout  the  whole  historic 
period  for  its  genial  climate  and  social  civilisation.  It  is  in 
this  aspect,  as  a  contemporary  cnronicling  of  current  events, 
that  palaeolithic  art  has  its  chief  value.  It  furnishes  a  graphic 
picturing  of  the  habits  of  life,  and  of  many  of  the  attendant 

1  "  The  Right  Hand  :  "  Left-handedness,  pp.  86,  37. 


,'•.; 


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198 


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circumstances  of  that  remote  period,  recorded  with  such  vivid 
truthfulness,  that  we  realise  very  definitely  the  character  of  its 
long-extinct  fauna,  and,  to  some  considerable  extent,  the  occu- 
pations and  modes  of  life  of  the  cave-men  by  whom  they  were 
hunted,  and  in  leisure  hours  were  reproduced  graven  or  carved, 
on  bone,  horn,  or  Ivory,  or  traced  in  free  outline  on  slabs  of 
schist  or  other  soft  stone. 

Viewed  simply  as  examples  of  imitative  art  among  a  people 
still  in  the  rudest  Stone  age,  the  drawings  are  significant  and 
instructive.  They  furnish  evidence  of  observation  and  artistic 
capacity,  and  consequently  of  intellectual  powers  capable  of 
very  different  results  from  anything  that  could  be  realised  in 
the  absence  of  all  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  or  of  anything 
beyond  the  crudest  appliances  for  developing  mechanical  skill. 
The  conditions  of  climate  probably  forbade  any  attempt  at 
ngriculture.  They  were  hunters,  fowlers,  fishers,  subsisting 
mainly,  if  not  wholly,  by  the  chase.  They  not  only  success- 
fully pursued  the  wild  horse,  the  reindeer,  and  other  swift- 
footed  herbivora,  but  assailed  the  cave-bear,  the  cave-lion,  and 
other  formidable  carnivora,  as  well  as  the  huge  rhinoceros  and 
the  mammoth.  They  also  made  excursions  to  the  sea-shore, 
and  no  doubt  left  there  shell  mounds  similar  to  those  which 
have  been  explored  with  such  interesting  results  on  the  Danish 
coast ;  and  which  have  their  New  World  equivalents  on  the 
seaboards  of  Massachusetts,  Georgia,  and  Florida,  where  at 
certain  seasons  the  Indians  resorted  to  feast  on  the  shell-fish. 
From  their  drawings  and  carvings  we  not  only  learn  this,  but 
also  that  they  were  not  unfamiliar  with  the  whale,  the  seal, 
and  other  marine  fauna.  The  presence  of  the  whale  and  seal 
in  the  same  latitude  as  the  reindeer  need  not  surprise  us.  The 
occupation  of  Europe  by  palaeolithic  man  contemporary  with 
the  Elephas  primigeniiis  and  other  extinct  mammalia,  belongs 
to  an  era  when  the  relative  levels  of  sea  and  land,  and  the 
relations  of  the  Atlantic  coast-line  to  the  ancient  continent, 
differed  widely  from  their  present  conditions.  If  the  genial 
current  of  the  Gulf  Stream  then  reached  the  shores  of  Europe, 
its  influence  extended  over  areas  very  diverse  from  those  now 
affected  by  it.  But  the  range  of  the  fauna  of  that  Palaeolithic 
era  was  a  wide  one.  Tusks  of  the  mammoth  and  antlers  of 
the  reindeer  occur  in  the  Scottish  boulder-clay ;  and  the  dis- 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


199 


covery  of  skeletons  of  the  whale  far  inland  in  the  carse  of 
Stirling,  accompanied  in  more  than  one  case  by  implements 
made  of  perforated  stag's  horn,  tells  of  the  presence  of  the 
Greenland  whale  on  the  ancient  Scottish  sea  coast,  while  the 
stag  haunted  its  forests,  and  the  Alloi)hylian  savage  paddled  his 
canoe  in  estuaries  marked  for  us  now  by  old  sea-margins  that 
preceded  the  last  great  rise  of  the  land.  Skulls  and  horns  of 
the  elk  occur  in  the  Scottish  peat-bogs,  seemingly  indistinguish- 
able from  those  of  the  Ccrvus  alecs,  or  North  American  moose.^ 
As  to  the  reindeer,  not  only  are  its  remains  found  in  Scottish 
mosses  and  the  underlying  man,  but  they  have  been  dug  up  in 
the  ruined  brochs,  as  at  Cill-Trolla,  Sutherlandshire,  and  Keiss 
in  Caithness.  The  favourite  haunts  of  the  Greenland  whale 
are  in  seas  encumbered  with  floating  ice ;  and  when  they  were 
stranded  in  the  estuary  of  the  Forth  by  a  tide  rising  on  a 
shore-line  now  nearly  thirty  feet  above  the  tide-mark  of  the 
present  day,  the  highlands  of  Scotland  were  capped  with  per- 
petual snow,  and  great  changes  of  level  had  still  to  occur.  But 
neither  the  whale  nor  the  Eskimo  retreated  within  the  Arctic 
circle  because  they  could  oidy  be  at  home  among  polar  ice  and 
snow.  Remains  of  the  whale  in  Scottish  kitchen  middens  of 
greatly  more  modern  date  show  that  it  must  have  haunted 
the  Scottish  shores  when  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding 
ocean  differed  little  from  that  of  the  present  day.  There  is 
preserved  in  the  Museum  of  the  Scottish  Antiquaries  a  drink- 
ing-cup  fashioned  from  the  vertebra  of  a  whale,  which  was 
found  in  a  weem,  or  subterranean  dwelling,  on  the  Isle  of 
Eday,  Orkney,  along  with  implements  of  stone,  horn,  bone, 
bronze,  and  iron ;  and  other  evidences  of  the  presence  of  the 
whale  in  the  Scottish  seas  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 

As  to  the  ivory  of  the  narwhal  and  the  rostungr,  or  walrus, 
it  was  in  use  by  Scoto-Scandinavian  carvers  after  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  reindeer  from  Scotland.  A  curious  large  sword, 
probably  of  the  fourteenth  century,  at  Hawthornden,  near 
Edinburgh,  has  the  hilt  made  of  the  narwhal's  tusk ;  and  the 
famous  Lewis  chessmen,  found  at  Uig  in  the  Isle  of  Lewis,  as 
well  as  examples  of  chess  and  tablemen  recovered  from  time  to 
time  in  other  Scottish  localities,  are  all  made  of  the  walrus 
ivory,  the  "  huel-bone "   of  Chaucer.     But  when   the   whale 

1  Proe.  Soc.  ArUiq.  Scot.,  ix.  297,  301. 


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THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


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haunted  the  shores  to  which  the  hunters  of  the  Perigord 
resorted,  it  is  doubtful  if  Britain  was  an  ishind.  In  that  age 
of  the  nmnimoth  and  the  reindeer  of  the  Pyrenees,  wlien  art 
flourished  in  the  valley  of  the  Vdzere,  and  men,  scarcely  less 
strange  than  the  long  extinct  fauna  on  which  they  preyed, 
sheltered  in  their  rock-dwellings  from  the  ice  and  snow,  the 
relative  levels  of  sea  and  land,  and  the  lines  of  the  Atlantic 
coast,  bore  no  relation  to  their  present  aspect ;  for  the  old  region 
of  ice  and  snow  was  what  is  now  familiar  to  us  as  the  vine- 
clad  sunny  land  of  France.  All  this  we  learn  from  the  archaeo- 
logical remains  of  those  old  times,  and  especially  from  the 
carvings  and  gravings  which,  happily  for  us,  were  then 
executed,  whether  for  pastime  or  as  actual  records.  Like 
many  of  the  native  races  of  the  American  continent  at  the 
present  day,  the  old  cave-dwellers  employed  their  leisure  time 
in  carving  in  bone,  horn,  or  ivory ;  and  like  them  too,  as  we 
believe,  they  applied  their  skill  in  graphic  art  as  a  means  of 
recording  events  and  communicating  facts  to  others.  The 
broad  palinated  antlers  of  the  reindeer,  prepared  sections  of 
mammoth  ivory,  and  slabs  of  schist,  all  furnished  tablets  on 
which  they  not  only  delineated  the  objects  of  the  chase,  but 
incidents  and  observations  of  daily  experience.  And  if  so,  we 
have  in  such  drawings  the  germ  of  ideographic  symbolism,  and 
of  hieroglyphic  writing.  By  just  such  a  process  of  recording 
facts  in  a  form  readily  intelligible  to  others,  the  early  dwellers 
in  the  Nile  valley  originated  the  mode  of  object-drawing  and 
ideographic  chronicling,  from  which  hieroglyphic,  demotic,  and 
ultimately,  phonetic  writing  were  evolved. 

It  is  not  solely  by  inference  that  we  are  led  to  surmise 
thai<  the  ingenious  draughtsmen  of  Southern  France  had  a  higher 
aim  than  mere  pastime  in  some,  at  least,  of  their  graphic 
devices.  The  relics  recovered  from  the  ancient  caves  include 
what  appear  to  be  tallies  and  numerical  records,  unmistakably 
indicative,  not  only  of  a  method  of  numeration,  but  of  the 
growth  of  a  system  of  mnemonic  symbolism,  and  distinctive 
graven  characters,  not  greatly  inferior  to  the  primitive  alpha- 
bets of  Celtic  or  Scandinavian  lithology.  It  is  curious,  indeed, 
to  find  ID  use  in  Europe's  early  Post-Glacial  period  symbols 
which,  but  for  their  undoubted  execution  by  the  ancient 
cave-men  of  Aquitania,  might  be  assigned  with  every  prob- 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


201 


age 


ability  to  some  Druid  scribe,  familiar  with  the  ogham  characters 
of  the  Gauls  and  British  Celts.  Among  tiie  objects  recovered  from 
the  Dordogue  caves,  including  tallies  and  inscribed  tablets  of 
horn  and  ivory,  with  their  enumeration  in  simple  units,  M. 
Ikoca  specially  noted  a  deer's  tyne,  marked  with  a  series  of 
notches,  which  he  assumed  to  be  a  hunter's  memoranda  of  the 
produce  of  the  chase.  A  more  complex  record,  found  in  the 
rock-shelter  of  Gorge  d'Enfer,  is  inscribed  on  a  plate  of  ivory. 
Its  groups  of  horizontal  and  oblique  lines  along  the  edges,  and 
symmetrical  rows  of  dots  on  the  ilat  surface,  combine  to 
funiish  a  record  graven  in  characters  as  well-defined  as  many 
a  runic  or  ogham  inscription.  If  it  be  no  more  than  the 
memoranda  of  a  successful  hunt,  with  a  classification  of  the 
different  kinds  of  game  secured  for  distribution  among  the 
members  of  the  tribe,  it  is  not  greatly  inferior  to  the  early 
system  of  numeration  among  the  Egyptians.  But  when  such 
a  piece  of  arithmetic  was  supplemented  by  a  pictorial  record 
of  the  hunt ;  or  by  the  incident,  so  acceptable  to  a  bevy  of 
hunters  over  their  camp-fire,  of  the  fight  of  the  male  deer  in 
the  rutting  season ;  or  the  charge  of  the  enraged  elephant  with 
elevated  trunk,  trumpeting  wrath  and  defiance:  much  had  been 
accomplished  that  admits  of  comparison  with  records  of  the 
modern  penman.^ 

It  is  difficult  for  the  men  of  a  lettered  age,  with  all  the 
facilities  of  the  printing-press  in  fullest  use,  to  realise  the 
condition  of  intellectual  activity,  or  the  natural  modes  of  its 
expression,  among  an  unlettered  people.  The  transmission  of 
Homeric  or  Ossianic  poems,  of  a  Niebelungen  Lied  or  an 
Albanic  Duan,  from  generation  to  generation,  by  the  mere  aid  of 
memory,  is  scarcely  conceivable  to  us  now.  Yet  I  recall  the 
account  given  by  Ozahwahguaquzuebe,  an  Ojibway  Indian,  who 
told  of  his  habitually  accumulating  his  tobacco  till  he  saved 
enough  to  bribe  an  aged  chief  of  the  tribe  to  repeat  to  him, 
again  and  again,  in  all  its  marvellous  details,  the  legend  of 
Nanaboozo  and  the  post-diluvial  creation,  in  order  that  he 
might  be  able,  in  his  turn,  to  recount  it  in  full,  as  it  had  come 
down  from  elder  generations  of  his  people. 

There  are  some  results  of  the  introduction  of  the  printing- 
press  still  very  partially  appreciated.  Its  direct  influence  on 
^  Vide  Prehistoric  Man,  3id  ed.  ii.  64. 


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203 


77/^  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


social  and  intellectual  progress  receives  ample  recognition  ; 
l)ut  not  so  all  indirect  intiuences  traceable  to  its  operations. 
In  elder  centuries,  before  (luttenberg  and  Faust  superseded 
the  labours  of  the  scribe,  not  a  few  ballad-epics  and  lyrics 
were  consigned  to  the  wandering  minstrels,  to  whose  tenacious 
memories  we  are  so  largely  indebted,  IJut  there  were  other 
avenues  in  those  old  centuries  for  fancy  and  passion,  not 
greatl}'  dissimilar  to  those  by  which  the  observation  and 
descriptive  powers  of  the  post-glacial  Troglodytes  found  vent. 
It  is  vain  for  a  Pugin  or  a  lluskin  to  bewail  the  mechanical 
character  of  modern  art.  It  was  easier  for  the  mediaeval 
satirist  to  find  free  scope  for  his  humour  in  a  sculptured 
corliel,  or  on  a  boss  of  the  beautiful  grc»ined  ceiling,  or  to 
carve  his  grosser  caricature  within  easy  access  under  the 
miserere  in  the  choir,  than  to  spend  long  hours  at  his  lectern 
in  the  scriptorium,  committing  Is  is  fancies  with  laborious  pains 
to  less  accessible  parchments.  And  so,  both  satires  and 
sermons  were  then  graven  in  stone,  which  now  find  utterance 
in  ways  more  suited  to  the  age  in  which  we  live  : — 

For  nature  brings  not  back  the  Mastodon, 
Nor  we  those  times. 


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Taste  and  fancy  have  now  a  thousand  avenues  at  their  com- 
mand for  the  humour  and  satire  which  mingled,  in  quaint 
incongruity  with  the  devout  aspirations  inwrought  into 
mediaeval  architecture.  With  the  revival  of  learning,  and  the 
introduction  of  the  printing-press,  came  the  Renaissance. 
Europe  renounced  mediaeval  art  as  "  Gothic."  Classic,  or  what 
passed  for  classic  art,  ruled  for  the  next  three  centuries. 
Architecture  became  more  and  more  mechanical;  while 
aesthetic  taste  sought  elsewhere,  and  more  especially  in  the 
novel  arena  of  the  printing-press,  for  avenues  where  it  could 
sport  in  unrestrained  freedom. 

The  ingenious  skill  of  the  palaeolithic  artists  and  tool- 
makers,  who  wrought  in  their  rock-shelters  and  limestone 
caves,  in  that  remote  era  when  the  climate  along  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Pyrenees  resembled  that  of  Labrador  at  the 
present  day,  has  naturally  awakened  a  lively  interest.  The 
rigour  of  the  climate  during  a  greatly  prolonged  winter 
prevented    their    obtaining    stone    or    flint    for  purposes   of 


JN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


aej 


manufacture.  They  \viouj;ht,  accordinfjly,  in  bone,  in  mam- 
moth ivory,  ami  in  the  horn  of  the  reindeer,  fashioniu}^  from 
such  materials  their  lances,  tish-speavs,  knives,  da^'<,'ers,  and 
l)odkins ;  turning  to  account  the  deer's  tynes  for  tallies ;  and 
carving  out  of  the  larger  bones  what  are  assumed  to  have 
been  maces  or  oftind  batons,  ehiborately  ornamented  with 
symbolic  devices  d'  signed  for  other  purposes  than  mere 
decoration. 

The  Eskimo  are  recognised  as  presenting  the  nearest  type 
to  the  cave-men  of  Europe's  Post-Glacial  era.  It  is  even 
possible  that,  like  the  natives  of  Labrador,  the  latter  may 
have  occupied  winter  snow-huts,  and  only  resorted  to  their 
cave-shelters  during  the  brief  heat  of  a  semi-arctic  summer. 
This,  however,  is  rendered  doubtful  by  the  occurrence  of 
reindeer  horns  and  bones  of  young  fawns,  along  with  others 
of  such  varying  age  as  to  indicate  the  presence  of  the 
hunter  during  nearly  every  season  of  the  year.  Among  a 
people  so  situated  the  industrial  arts  are  called  into  constant 
requisition,  alike  for  clothing  and  tools ;  and  the  experience 
of  the  hunter  directs  him  to  the  products  of  the  chase  for 
the  easiest  supply  of  both.  The  pointed  horn  of  the  deer 
furnished  the  ready-made  dagger,  lance  head,  and  harpoon; 
the  incisor  tooth  of  the  larger  rodents  supplied  a  more  deli- 
cately edged  chisel  than  primitive  art  could  devise ;  and  the 
very  process  of  fracturing  the  bones  of  the  larger  mammalia, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  prized  marrow,  produced  the  splinters 
and  pointed  fragments  which  an  easy  manipulation  converted 
into  daggers,  bodkins,  and  needles.  The  ivory  of  walrus, 
narwhal,  or  elephant  is  readily  wrought  into  many  desirable 
forms,  and  is  less  liable  to  fracture  than  Hint  or  stone ;  and 
all  those  materials  are  abundant  in  the  most  rigorous  winters, 
when  the  latter  are  sealed  up  under  the  frozen  soil.  Imple- 
ments of  horn  or  bone  may  therefore  be  assumed  to  have 
preceded  all  but  the  rudest  flint  celts  and  hammer  stones 
or  unwrought  missiles ;  and  although,  owing  to  the  nearly 
indestructible  nature  of  their  material,  it  is  from  the  latter 
that  our  ide4,a  of  primeval  tool-making  are  chiefly  derived, 
enough  has  been  recovered  from  contemporary  cave  deposits 
to  confirm  the  analogy  of  their  arts  to  those  of  the  hyper- 
borean workmen  of  the  North  American  continent. 


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The  necessity  which,  to  a  large  extent,  determined  the 
material  of  the  ancient  workers  in  bone  and  ivory,  was  favour- 
able to  the  development  of  the  imitat^ive  faculty.  The 
ingenious  ivory  and  bone  carvings  of  the  Tawatins  and  other 
tribes  of  British  Columbia,  cf  the  Thlinkets  of  Alaska,  and  the 
Eskimo,  equally  suffice,  with  the  examples  of  European 
palaeolithic  art,  to  show  how  favourable  such  material  was  to 
the  development  of  artistic  feeling,  which  must  have  lain  dor- 
mant had  the  artificers  been  limited  to  flint  and  stone.  The 
same  influence  may  be  seen  in  operation  in  many  stages  of 
art :  as  in  massive  but  bald  Gothic  structures,  such  as  St 
Machar's  Cathedral  on  the  Dee,  where  the  builders  were 
limited  to  granite,  while  contemporary  architecture  in  local- 
ities where  good  sandstone  or  limestone  abounds  is  rich  in 
elaborate  details ;  and,  where  the  soft  and  easily  wrought  Caen 
stone  is  available,  runs  to  excess  in  the  florid  exuberance  of 
its  carvings. 

The  ingenious  artist  of  the  Palteolithic  era  not  only 
ornamented  the  hafts  of  his  tools  and  weapons  with  repre- 
sentations of  lamilipr  objects  of  the  chase,  but  is  also  accre- 
dited with  carving,  on  his  mace  or  baton,  symbolic  emblems 
expressing  the  rank  and  official  duties  of  the  owner.  The 
analogous  practice  of  the  Haidahs  of  the  Queen  Charlotte 
Islands  at  the  present  day  shows  that  there  is  nothing  incon- 
sistent with  primitive  thought  in  the  symbolic  significance 
assigned  to  some  of  the  carved  batons  ;  and,  if  so,  we  have 
there  examples  of  imitative  art  employed  in  a  way  which 
involved  the  germ  of  ideographic  graving  or  picture-writing. 
The  mere  fact  of  pictorial  imitation  implies  the  interpretation 
of  its  representations.  Eskimo  implements  are  to  be  seen  in 
various  collections,  as  at  Copenhagen  and  Stockholm,  in  the 
British  Museum,  in  those  of  San  Francisco  and  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  at  Washington,  ornamented  with  representations 
of  adventures  incident  to  their  habits  of  life.  An  Arctic 
collection,  presented  by  Captain  Beechy  to  the  Ashmolean 
Museum  at  Oxford,  furnishes  interesting  illustrations  of  the 
skill  ot  the  Eskimo  draughtsman.  The  carvings  and  linear 
drawings  represent,  for  the  most  part,  incidents  in  the  life  of 
the  polar  hunter ;  and  this  is  so  effectively  done  that,  as 
Captain    Beechy  says :    "  By    comparing   one    with   another, 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


205 


the 


a  little  history  was  obtained  which  gave  us  a  better  insight 
into  their  habits  than  could  be  elicited  from  any  signs  or 
intimations."  ^  Mr.  W.  H.  Dall  figures  in  his  Alaska  and 
its  Resources,  analogous  examples  of  Innuit  or  Western 
Eskimo  art ;  and  in  an  interesting  communication  by  Dr  J. 
W.  Hoffman  to  the  Anthropological  Society  of  Washington, 
on  Eskii^o  pictographs  as  compared  with  those  of  other 
American  aborigines,  he  figures  and  interprets  similar 
examples.  ^  One  of  these,  copied  from  an  ivory  bow  used 
in  making  fire,  which  he  examined  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  of  San  Francisco,  depicts  three 
incidents  in  the  Innuit  hunter's  experience.  In  one,  the 
hunter  supplicates  the  Shaman,  or  native  medicine-man,  for 
success  in  the  chase  ;  another  group  represents  the  results  of 
the  chase  ;  while  the  third  records  the  incidents  of  an  unsuc- 
cessful appeal  to  another  shaman.  Another  graving  from  the 
same  locality  embodies  the  incidents  of  success  and  failure  in 
a  prolonged  hunting  expedition.  In  their  interpretation.  Dr. 
Hoffman  was  assisted  by  a  Kadiack  half-breed  who  happened 
to  visit  San  Francisco  at  the  time.  A  design  of  the  same 
class  copied  from  a  piece  of  walrus  ivory,  carved  by  a 
Kiatdgamut  Indian  of  Southern  Alaska,  records  a  successful 
feat  of  the  shaman  in  curing  two  patients.  He  is  represented 
in  the  act  of  exorcising  the  demons,  who  are  seen  just  cast  out 
from  the  men  restored  to  health  by  his  agency.  From  the 
interpretations  thus  given,  it  may  be  inferred  that  such 
drawings  as  those  described  by  Captain  Beechy  represent  in 
nearly  every  case  actual  incidents.  The  hunter  celebrates  his 
return  from  a  successful  chase,  his  experience  in  the  attempt 
to  propitiate  the  supernatural  powers  on  his  behalf,  or  any 
other  notable  event,  by  recording  the  impressive  incidents  on 
thfc  handle  of  his  hunting  knife  or  his  ivory  bow,  or  even  in 
some  cases  on  a  tablet  of  walrus  ivory ;  just  as  the  enthusi- 
astic sportsman  will  at  times  enter  in  his  journal  the  special 
occurrences  of  the  fox-hunt,  or  the  more  adventurous  feats  of 
depr-stalking,  or  commission  an  artist  to  perpetuate  them  on 
canvas.  Incidents  of  exceptional  skill  or  daring  are  no  doubt 
recalled,  and   listened  to   with  eager  interest  by  the  home 

'  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Pacijic,  i.  241. 
*  Tram.  AiUhropol,  Hoc,  JVashington,  ii.  140. 


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TI/E  /ESTHETIC  rACULTY 


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circle  in  the  Arctic  snow -hut ;  and  are  confirmed  in  their 
most  thrilling  details  by  appeals  to  such  graven  records. 

The  more  durable  material  employed  alike  by  the  ancient 
cave-dwellers  of  Europe  and  by  the  modern  Innuit  and 
Eskimo,  has  secured  their  preservation  in  a  form  best  calcu- 
lated to  command  attention.  But  similar  graphic  representa- 
tions of  incidents  and  ideas  are  common  to  vanous  tribes  of 
North  American  Indians.  Throughout  the  wide  region  of  the 
old  Algonkin  tribes  rock-carvings,  such  as  that  of  the  famous 
Dighton  Eock,  abound.  The  same  are  no  less  frequent  in  the 
South-West  from  New  Mexico  to  California ;  while  sim  ar 
pictographs  are  executed  by  the  Ojibways  in  less  durable 
fashion  on  their  grave-posts,  or  even  on  strips  of  birch  bark. 
In  like  fashion,  the  Crees  and  Blackfeet  of  the  Canadian 
North-West  adorn  their  buffalo-skin  tents  with  incidents  of 
war  and  the  chase,  and  blazon  on  their  buffalo  robes  their 
personal  feats  of  daring,  and  the  discomfiture  of  their  foes. 
In  this  way,  the  aboriginal  draughtsman  is  seen  in  his  pictorial 
devices  to  aim  at  the  like  result  with  that  achieved  by  the  old 
minstrel  chronicler  or  the  courtly  herald. 

Of  the  ornamented  handles  of  implements  recovered  from 
the  abodes  of  the  ancient  cave-dwellers  of  Europe,  the  most 
notable  examples  are  far  in  advance  of  any  Eskimo  carvings. 
One  of  those,  from  the  cave  at  Laugerie  Basse,  has  been 
repeatedly  engraved.  It  is  fashioned  from  a  piece  of  rein- 
deer's horn.  The  carver  has  so  modified  his  design,  and 
availed  himself  of  the  ratural  contour  of  his  material,  as  to 
adapt  it  admirably  to  its  purpose  as  the  handle  of  a  poignard. 
It  was  apparently  intended  to  include  both  handle  and  blade ; 
but  probably  broke  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  and  was 
flung  aside  unfinished.  The  design  is  a  spirited  adaptation  to 
the  special  requirements.  The  horns  are  thrown  back  on  the 
neck,  the  fore  legs  doubled  up,  and  the  hind  legs  stretched 
out,  as  if  in  the  act  of  leaping.  Another  finely  finished 
example  of  a  dagger-handle,  from  Montastrue,  Peccadeau  de 
risle,  figured  by  Professur  de  Quatrefages  in  his  ffommcs 
fossiles,  also  represents  the  deer  with  its  horns  thrown  back ; 
but  from  its  fractured  condition  the  position  of  the  limbs  can 
only  be  surmised  to  have  corresponded  to  the  example  from 
Laugerie  Basse.     With  those  may  be  classed  such  carvings  as 


TN^  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


207 


the  pike,  so  characteristically  represented  on  a  tooth  of  the 
cave -bear,  recovered  from  a  refuse  heap  in  the  cave  of 
Durntly  in  the  Western  Pyrenees,  and  other  similar  sports  of 
primitive  artistic  skill. 

Such  carvings  had  no  other  aim,  we  may  presume,  than 
the  decoration  of  a  favourite  weapon,  or  the  beguiling  of  a 
leisure  hour.  But  they  show  the  fruits  of  skill,  and  the 
observation  of  a  practised  eye,  by  the  ingenious  workmen 
whose  drawings  and  etchings  nierit  our  careful  study.  Con- 
siderable taste  and  still  more  ingenuity  are  exhibited  by 
many  of  the  American  aborigines,  in  their  decorative 
carvings,  and  the  ornamentation  both  of  their  weapons  and 
dress.  The  characteristics  of  Eskimo  art  have  been  noted. 
The  Thlinkets  of  Alaska,  lying  on  their  western  border, 
manifest  a  like  skill,  making  ladles  and  spoons  from  the  horns 
of  the  deer,  the  mountain  sheep,  and  goat,  and  carving  them 
with  elaborate  ingenuity.  They  also  work  in  walrus  ivory, 
fashioning  their  bodkins,  combs,  and  personal  ornaments  with 
varied  ornamentation  ;  decorate  their  knife-handles  of  bone, 
their  paddles,  and  other  implements  ;  and  carve  grotesque 
masks,  with  much  inventive  ingenuity  in  the  variety  of  the 
design,  though  scarcely  in  a  style  of  high  art.  But  it  is 
interesting  to  note  the  different  phases  of  this  imitative 
faculty.  Some  tribes,  such  as  the  Algonkins,  confine  their 
art  mainly  to  literal  reproductions  of  natural  objects  ;  while 
others,  such  as  the  Chimpseyans  or  Babeens,  the  Tawatins, 
and  the  Clalam  Indians  of  Vancouver  Island,  have  developed 
a  conventional  style  of  art,  often  exhibiting  much  ingenious 
fancy  in  its  grotesque  ornamentation.  This  is  specially 
apparent  in  the  clay -stone  pipes  of  the  Chimpseyans,  in 
carving  which  they  rival  the  ingenious  Haidahs  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands  in  exuberance  of  detail.  But  while  the  art 
has  become  conventional,  where  it  is  not  displaced  by  imita- 
tions of  the  novel  objects  brought  under  their  notice  in  their 
intercourse  with  Europeans  its  combinations  are  in  most 
cases  referable  to  native  my^hs. 

In  niany  of  the  elaborately  carved  Chimpseyan  pipes,  their 
special  purpose  seems  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  whimsical 
profusion  of  ornament,  embracing  every  native  or  foreign 
object  that  has  chanced  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  sculptor. 


> 

f'  Hi 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 

Nevertheless,  it  may  help  us  to  do  justice  to  the  true  aim  of 
the  Indian  artist,  if  we  call  to  remembrance  how  much  of 
Christian  symbolism  was  embodied  in  many  a  mediieval 
sculpturing  of  what,  to  the  unsympathetic  observer,  seem  now 
only  conventional  vines  and  lilies,  or  a  mere  fanciful  grouping 
of  dragons  and  snakes,  with  apples,  figs,  grapes,  and  thorns. 
This  has  to  be  kept  in  vif  w  while  noting  in  the  pipe  sculptures 
human  figures  in  strangest  varieties  of  posture,  intertwined 
with  zoomorphic  devices,  in  which  the  bear  and  the  frog  have 
a  prominent  place ;  ar^d,  as  will  be  seen,  a  mythic  significance. 
It  is  no  less  suggestive  to  note,  alike  in  the  Chimpseyan  and 
in  the  Tawatin  and  Haidah  carvings,  curious  analogies  to  the 
sculptures  of  Mexico,  Yucatan,  and  Central  America.  Thif, 
resemblance  has  been  noticed,  independently,  by  man} 
observers. 

Marchand,  a  French  navigator  who  visited  the  Queen 
Charlotte  Islands  in  1791,  after  having  recently  seen  the 
Mexican  sculpture  and  paintings,  formed  the  opinion  that  the 
Haidah  works  of  art  could  be  distinctly  traced  to  Aztec 
origin.^  He  remarks  of  their  paintings  and  carvings :  "  The 
taste  for  ornament  prevails  in  all  the  works  of  their  hands ; 
their  canoes,  their  chests,  and  different  little  articles  of  furni- 
ture in  use  among  them,  are  covered  with  figures  which  plight 
be  taken  for  a  species  of  hieroglyphics;  fishes  and  other 
animals,  heads  of  men,  and  various  whimsical  designs,  are 
mingled  and  confounded  in  order  to  compose  a  subject. 
It  undoubtedly  will  not  be  expected  that  these  figures 
should  be  perfectly  regular  and  the  proportious  in  them 
exactly  observed,  for  here  every  man  is  a  painter  and 
sculpto'';  yet  they  are  not  deficient  in  a  sort  of  elegance 
and  t  (!rfection." 

The  imitative  faculty  thus  manifested  so  generally 
among  a  people  still  in  the  condition  of  savage  life,  shows 
itself  no  less  strikingly  in  the  modern  clay-stone  carvings 
of  objects  of  foreign  introduction.  The  collection  formed 
by  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  and  largely 
augmented  since,  includes  numerous  carvings  in  which 
representations  of  log  and  frame  houses,  forts,  boats,  horses, 
and  fire-arms,    are    introduced;    and    where    cords,    pulleys, 

^    Marchand's  Voyages,  ii.  282. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


309 


anchors,  and  other  details  copied  from  the  shipping  which 
frequent  the  coasts,  furnish  evidence  of  a  practised  eye, 
and  considerable  powers  of  imitation.  To  the  unfamiliar 
observer,  the  result  presents,  in  many  cases,  a  very 
arbitrary  and  even  incongruous  jumble  of  miscellaneous 
details.  But,  most  probably,  the  native  designer  had,  in  every 
case,  a  special  meaning,  and  even  some  specific  incident  in 
view. 

The  interest  awakened  by  such  manifestations  of  observant 
accuracy  and  artistic  skill  among  savage  tribes  is  not  dimin- 
ished by  the  fact  that  in  nearly  all  other  respects  they  are 
devoid  of  culture.  Notwithstanding  the  absence  in  most  of 
them  of  the  very  rudiments  of  civilisation,  experience  proves 
that  among  the  tribes  to  the  west  of  the  Eocky  Mountains 
distinguished  by  artistic  capacity,  there  is  an  aptitude  for 
industrious  and  settled  habits,  the  want  of  which  is  so  notice- 
able in  the  nomad  tribes  of  the  prairies.  Their  linear  patterns 
are  often  singularly  graceful ;  and  they  employ  colour  lavishly, 
and  with  some  degree  of  taste,  in  decorating  their  masks, 
boats,  and  dwellings.  This  is  specially  noticeable  among  the 
Haidahs,  in  the  different  dialects  of  whose  language  we  find 
not  only  names  for  nearly  all  the  primary  colours,  but  also 
the  word  kigimijago,  "a  picture."  The  symbolical  and 
mythological  significance  of  many  of  their  carvings  is  indis- 
putable; while  the  affinities,  traceable  at  times  to  the 
ornameutation  most  characteristic  of  the  architectural 
remains  in  the  principal  seats  of  native  American  civilis- 
ation in  Central  America,  confer  on  them  a  peculiar  interest 
and  value. 

The  curiously  conventional  style  of  ornamentation  of  the 
Haidihs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  is  lavishly  expended  on 
their  idols,  or  mauitous,  carved  in  black  argillaceous  stone, 
and  on  their  council-houses  and  lodges.  In  front  of  each 
Haidah  dwelling  stands  an  ornamented  column,  formed  of  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  large  enough,  in  many  cases,  to  admit  of  the 
doorway  being  cut  through  it.  These  columns,  or  "  totem- 
poles  "  as  they  have  been  called,  are,  in  some  cases,  sixty  or 
seventy  feet  high,  elaborately  carved  with  the  symbols  or 
totems  of  their  owners.  The  height  of  the  pole  indicates  the 
rank  of  the  inmate,  and  any  attempt  at  undue  assumption  in 

p 


2IO 


THE  ^ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


this  respect  is  jealously  resented  by  rival  chiefs.  The  symbols 
of  their  four  clans — the  eagle,  beaver,  dog-fish,  and  black 
duck, — are  represented  in  conventional  style  on  the  carved 
house-pole,  along  with  their  individual  or  family  totems.  In 
some  cases  boxes  are  attached  to  the  poles  containing  the 
remains  of  their  dead.  Dr.  HoiTman,  whose  previous  studies 
in  native  symbolism  and  ideography  specially  prepared  him 
for  the  intelligent  observation  of  such  monuments,  has 
furnished  an  interpretation  of  their  most  familiar  devices. 
"  Vhen  the  posts  are  the  property  of  some  individual,  the 
personal  totemic  sign  is  carved  at  the  top.  Other  animate 
and  grotesque  figures  follow  in  rapid  succession,  down  to  the 
base,  so  that  unless  one  is  familiar  with  the  mythology  and 
folk-lore  of  the  tribe,  the  subject  would  be  utterly  unintelligible. 
A  drawing  was  made  of  one  post  with  only  seven  pronounced 
carvings,  but  which  related  to  three  distinct  myths.  The  bear, 
in  the  act  of  devouring  a  hunter,  or  tearing  out  his  heart,  is 
met  with  on  many  of  the  posts,  and  appears  to  form  an 
interesting  theme  for  the  native  artists.  The  story  connected 
with  this  is  as  follows : — Toivats,  an  Indian,  had  occasion  to 
'/isit  the  lodge  of  the  King  of  the  Bears,  but  found  him  out. 
The  latter's  wife,  however,  was  at  home,  and  Toivats  made  love 
to  her.  Upon  the  return  of  the  Bear,  everything  seemed  to 
be  in  confusion.  He  charged  his  wife  with  infidelity,  which 
she  denied.  The  Bear  pretended  to  be  satisfied,  but  his 
suspicions  caused  him  to  watch  his  wife  very  closely,  and  he 
soon  found  that  her  visits  away  from  the  lodge  for  wood  and 
water  occurred  each  day  at  precisely  the  same  hour.  Then 
the  Bear  tied  a  magic  thread  to  her  dress,  and  when  his  wife 
again  left  the  lodge,  he  followed  the  magic  thread,  and  soon 
came  upon  his  wife,  finding  her  in  the  arms  of  Toivats.  The 
Bear  was  so  enraged  at  this  that  he  tore  out  the  heart  of  the 
destroyer  of  his  happiness."  ^  Dr.  Hoffman  found  this  myth, 
with  the  corresponding  carvings  in  walrus  ivory,  among  the 
Thlinkit  Indians,  who,  as  he  conceives,  obtained  both  the  story 
and  the  design  for  their  ivory  carvings  from  the  Haidahs. 
This  appears  to  receive  confirmation  from  the  peculiar  style  of 
art  common  to  both. 

^  Remarks  on  Aboriginal  Art  in  California  and  Qiieen  Charlotte  Islands, 
p.  118. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


211 


But  the  decorations  of  the  Haidah  lodge-poles  admit  at 
times  of  a  much  more  homely  interpretation.  Mr.  James  G. 
Swan,  the  author  of  an  article  on  "  The  Haidah  Indians,"  in 
Vol.  XXI.  of  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge,  in 
a  communication  to  the  West  Shore,  an  Oregon  journal,  thus 
describes  an  Indian  lodge  and  house-pole  which  attracted  his 
notice,  owing  to  its  carved  figures,  in  round  hat  and  other 
European  costume,  surmounting  the  two  corner-posts  of  the 
lodge.  He  accordingly  made  a  careful  drawing  of  the  whole, 
which,  as  he  says,  "  is  interesting  as  illustrative  of  the  grim 
humour  of  an  Indian  in  trying  to  be  avenged  for  what  he 
considered  an  act  of  injustice  a  number  of  years  ago.  Bear 
Skin,  a  somewhat  noted  Haidah  chief,  belonging  to  Skidegate 
village,  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  was  in  Victoria,  when  for 
some  offence  he  was  fined  and  imprisoned  by  Judge  Pemberton, 
the  police  magistrate.  Bear  Skin  felt  very  much  insulted ; 
and  in  order  to  get  even  with  the  magistrate  he  carved  the 
two  figures,  which  are  said  to  be  good  likenesses  of  the  Judge, 
who  in  this  dual  capacity  mounts  guard  at  each  corner  of  the 
front  of  the  chief's  residence.  The  gigantic  face  on  the  front 
of  the  house,  and  the  two  bears  on  the  two  mortuary  columns, 
seem  to  be  grinning  with  fiendish  delight,  while  the  raven  on 
top  of  one  of  the  columns  has  cocked  his  eye  so  as  to  have  a 
fair  look  at  the  effigies  beneath  him.  Bear  Skin  is  dead,  but 
the  images  still  remain.  It  has  been  suggested  that  they  be 
removed  to  Victoria,  and  be  placed  over  the  entrance  to  the 
police  barracks,  to  keep  watch  and  ward  like  Gog  and  Magog 
at  the  gates  of  old  London  city."  But,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
symbolical  meaning  appears  to  be  most  frequently  embodied 
in  the  Haidah  devices ;  of  which  Mr.  Swan  reproduces  various 
illustrations,  accompanied  with  native  interpretations  of  them. 
One  drawing,  for  example,  represents  a  grouping  of  conven- 
tional patterns  such  as  are  common  on  the  Haidah  blankets  of 
goats'  hair,  and  in  which  the  untutored  student  can  discern 
little  more  than  confused  scroll-work,  with  here  and  there  an 
enormous  eye,  rows  of  teeth,  and  a  symmetrical  repetition  of 
the  design  on  either  side  of  the  central  device.  Yet,  according 
to  Kitelswa,  the  native  Haidah  interpreter,  "it  represents 
cirrus  clouds,  or,  as  sailors  term  them,  'mares'  tails  and 
mackerel  sky,'  the  sxvce  precursors  of  a   change  of  weather. 


I- ' 


m 


w 


212 


THE  /ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


The  centre  figure  is  T'kul,  the  wind  spirit.     On  the  right  and 
left  are  his  feet,  which  are  indicated  by  long  streaming  clouds  ; 
above  are  his  wings,  and  on  each  side  are  the  different  winc'^, 
each  designated  by  an  eye,  and  represented  by  the  patches 
of  cirrus  clouds.     When  T'kul  determines  which  wind  is  to 
blow,  he   gives  the  word  and  the  other  winds  retire.     The 
change  in  the  weather  is  usually  followed  by  rain,  which  is 
indicated  by  the  tears  which  stream  from  the  eyes  of  T'kul." 
The  difficulty  with  which  the  inexperienced  observ^er  has  to 
contend,  in  any  attempt  to  interpret  such  native  conventional 
art,  finds  apt  illustration  in  Mr.  Swan's  account  of  an  elabor- 
ately sculptured  lodge-pole  of  which  he  made  a  drawing  at 
Kioosta  village,  on  Graham  Island,  one  of  the  Queen  Charlotte 
group.     When  describing    it  in  minute  detail,  he  says :  "  I 
could   make  out    all  the  figures   but  the  butterfly,    which  I 
thought  at  first  was  an  elephant  with  its  trunk  coiled  up ;  but 
on  inquiry  of  old  Edinso,  the  chief  who  was  conveying  me  in 
his  canoe  from   Massett  to   Skidegate,  he  told   me  it  was  a 
butterfly,  and  pointed  out  one  which  had  just  lit  near  by  on  a 
flower."      The  same  characteristics  have  already  been  referred 
to  in  describing  the  claystone  carvings  of  the  Chimpseyans. 
They  also  mark  the  Haidah  sculptures  executed  in  the  soft 
argillaceous  slate  which  abounds  in  their  vicinity.     But  the 
Haidahs  work  with  no  less  ability  in  other  materials ;  and 
were  familiar  of  old  with  the  native  copper,  which  is  brought 
from  some  still  unascertained  locality,  it  is  believed,  in  Alaska. 
The  collections  of  the  Geological  Survey  at  Ottawa  include 
some  of  their  beautifully  wrought  copper  daggers  and  a  massive 
and  finely  finished  copper  neck-collar.     They  have  now  learned 
to  work  with  equal  skill  in  iron.     Their  bracelets,  rings,  and  ear 
ornaments  of  gold  and  silver ;  their  copper  shields  and  richly 
carved  emblematic   weapons,  bows  and   arrows,  iron  daggers 
and  war  knives;    as  well  as  their  wooden  and  horn   dishes, 
spoons,    masks,  and    toys,   are    eagerly    sought    after.     The 
carvings    on    them,    when  properly  explained,    are    of  great 
interest ;  for  every  device  has  a  meaning,  and  each  illustrates 
a  story  or  a  legend,  readily  understood  by  the  Indian,  but  by 
no  means  willingly  interpreted  to  strangers. 

A  knowledge  of  the  myths  of  the  Haidahs  and  other  coast 
tribes  is  indispensable  to  any  interpretation  of  their  carvings ; 


\r 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


213 


and  to  those,  accordingly,  Dr.  Hoffman  has  directed  his 
attention.  "  A  very  common  object,"  as  he  says,  "  found 
carved  upon  various  household  vessels,  handles  of  wooden 
spoons,  etc.,  is  the  head  of  a  human  being  in  the  act  of  eating 
a  toad ;  or,  as  it  frequently  occurs,  the  toad  placed  a  short 
distance  below  the  mouth.  This  refers  to  the  evil  dpirit, 
supposed  to  live  in  the  wooded  country,  who  has  great  power 
of  committing  evil  by  means  of  poison,  supposed  to  be  ex- 
tracted from  the  toad;"  but,  as  Dr.  Hoffman  adds,  it  is  a 
difficult  matter  to  get  an  Indian  to  acknowledge  the  common 
belief  in  the  mythic  being,  even  when  aware  that  the  inquirer 
is  ir  possession  of  the  main  facts. 

The  interpretations  thus  furnished  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
carvings  of  the  Haidahs  and  other  artistic  native  tribes  of 
British  Columbia,  and  the  evidence  of  a  specific  meaning  and 
application  discoverable  in  their  most  conventional  designs, 
have  a  significant  bearing  on  the  study  of  analogous  pro- 
ductions of  the  cave-men  of  Europe's  pal£eolithic  dawn.  The 
manifestations  of  an  active  imitative  faculty  and  some  degree 
of  artistic  skill,  among  different  rude  native  tribes  of  this 
continent,  present  some  striking  parallels  to  the  aisthetic  apti- 
tudes of  the  primieval  draughtsmen  and  carvers  of  Europe. 
There  are,  moreover,  undoubted  resemblances  in  style  and 
mode  of  representation  of  the  objects,  as  depicted  on  some  of 
the  ancient  and  the  modern  bone  and  ivory  carvings  and 
drawing?  of  the  two  continents ;  but  the  latter  exhibit  no 
evidence  of  progress.  The  Innuit  and  Eskimo  designs  do, 
indeed,  more  nearly  approximate  to  those  of  the  primitive 
draughtsmen  than  other  aboriginal  efforts ;  but  their  inferiority 
in  all  respects  is  equally  striking  and  indisputable. 

The  evidence  of  artistic  ability  in  the  native  races  both  of 
Central  and  Southern  America  is  abundant ;  nor  is  the  northern 
continent  lacking  in  its  specially  artistic  race.  But  the 
achievements  of  the  ancient  Mayas,  Peruvians,  or  Mound- 
Builders,  are  of  very  recent  date,  compared  with  the  palaeolithic, 
or  even  the  neolithic  productions  of  Europe.  It  need  not, 
therefore,  excite  our  wonder  to  find  American  antiquaries 
welcoming  a  disclocure,  only  too  strikingly  analogous  to  the 
famous  mammoth  drawing  of  the  La  Madeleine  cave.  There 
recently  issued  from  the  American  press  a  tastefully  printed 


M 


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.."#1 


314 


THE  ^ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


m 


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♦,\k 


volume,  in  which  its  author,  Mr.  H.  C.  Mercer,  gives  an 
account  of  the  discovery,  near  Doylestown,  Pennsylvania,  of  a 
"  gorget  stone "  of  soft  shale,  on  which  is  graven  what  the 
author  describes  as  "  unquestionably  a  picture  of  a  combat 
between  savages  and  the  hairy  mammoth.  The  monster, 
angry,  and  with  erect  tail,  approaches  the  forest,  in  which 
through  the  pine-trunks  are  seen  the  wigwams  of  an  Indian 
village."  The  sun,  moon,  and  the  forked  lightning  overhead, 
complete  a  design  which  could  scarcely  deserve  serious  notice, 
so  palpable  is  the  evidence  of  the  fabrication,  were  it  not  for 
the  unmistakable  sincerity  with  which  ♦he  author  sets  forth 
the  narration,  and  assures  us  that  after  the  most  careful 
inquiry  "  nothing  has  occurred  to  shake  his  faith  in  the  unim- 
peachable evidence  of  an  honest  discovery."  ^  The  figure  of 
the  mammoth  has  a  svspiciously  near  resemblance,  in  all  but 
one  respect,  to  the  La  Madeleine  graving  on  mammoth  ivory. 
It  charges  its  assailants  with  lowered  trunk  and  erect  tail ; 
but  instead  of  presenting,  as  in  the  ancient  cave-dweller's 
drawing,  evidence  of  aptitude  in  the  free  use  of  the  pencil  or 
graving  tool,  the  scratchings  on  the  Lenape  Stone  are  crude 
and  inartistic,  even  if  tried  by  the  rudest  standard  of  Indian 
art.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  worth  noting  that — if  the  design 
has  not  been  purposely  reversed  in  order  to  evade  comparison 
with  the  genuine  European  example, — it  is  a  left-handed 
drawing.  The  forgery  of  palaeolithic  implements  has  become  a 
systematic  branch  of  manufacture  in  Europe ;  and  the  "  Grave 
Creek  Stone,"  the  "  Ohio  Holy  Stone,"  and  other  similar  pro- 
ductions of  perverted  American  ingenuity  are  familiar  to  us. 
It  need  not,  therefore,  excite  any  special  wonder  to  find  a  like 
activity  in  the  production  of  fictitious  examples  of  pictorial 
a?'t. 

But  North  America  has  its  own  ancient  artistic  race,  which, 
though  claiming  no  such  antiquity  as  that  of  Aquitaine,  is,  iu 
the  primary  sense  of  the  term,  essentially  prehistoric.  Among 
the  aesthetic  productions  of  older  races  of  the  continent,  tlie 
carvings  and  sculptures  of  the  ancient  Mound- Builders  of  Ohio 
not  only  admit  of  comparison  with  those  of  Europe's  primitive 
workers  in  bone  and  ivory,  but  even,  in  one  respect,  surpass 

^  Hie  Lenape  Stone :  or  the  Indian  and  the  Man^moth,  by  H.  C.  Mercer.    New 
York,  1886,  pp.  5,  17. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


215 


for 


tliem.  For  it  is  curious  to  observe  that  the  palaeolithic  artists, 
whose  carvings  and  drawings  manifest  such  a  capacity  for 
appreciating  the  grace  of  animal  form,  and  for  reproducing 
with  such  truthfulness  objects  and  scenes  familiar  to  them  in 
the  chase,  seem  to  have  invariably  failed,  or  at  least  shown  a 
surprising  lack  of  skill,  in  their  attempts  to  delineate  the 
human  face  and  figure.  Professor  de  Quatrefages  notes  of  one 
such  carving :  "  M.  Massdnat  has  brought  from  Laugerie  Basse 
a  fragment  of  reindeer's  horn,  on  which  is  graven  a  male 
aurochs  fleeing  before  a  man  armed  with  a  lance  or  javelin. 
The  animal  is  magnificent ;  the  man,  on  the  contrary,  is 
detestable,  devoid  alike  of  proportion  and  true  portraiture."  ^ 
Some  beautiful  Mexican  terra-cotta  human  masks  have  been 
preserved ;  and,  amid  the  endless  varieties  of  quaint  and 
whimsical  device  in  Peruvian  pottery,  singularly  graceful 
portrait-vases  occur.  But,  as  a  rule,  even  among  the  civilised 
Mexicans,  imitations  of  the  human  face  and  figure  seldom 
passed  beyond  the  grotesque ;  and  although  the  sculptors  of 
Central  America  and  Yucatan  manifested  an  artistic  power 
which  accords  with  the  civilisation  of  a  lettered  people,  yet, 
in  the  majority  of  their  statues  and  reliefs,  the  human  form 
and  features  are  subordinated  to  the  symbolism  of  their 
mythology,  or  to  mere  decorative  requirements.  In  the 
carvings  of  the  old  Mound-Builders,  as  in  those  of  the  vastly 
more  ancient  artists  of  palaeolithic  Europe,  we  have  to  deal 
with  miniature  works  of  art ;  but  both  include  productions 
meriting  the  designation.  The  variety  and  expressiveness  of 
many  of  the  mound  sculptures,  their  careful  execution,  and  the 
evidence  of  imitative  skill  which  they  furnish,  all  combine  to 
render  them  objects  of  interest.  But  foremost  in  every  trait 
of  value  are  the  human  heads.  In  view  of  the  accuracy  of 
many  of  the  miniature  sculptures  of  animals,  it  has  been 
reasonably  assumed  that  they  perpetuate  no  less  trustworthy 
representations  of  the  workmen  by  whom  they  were  carved. 
Equally  well-executed  examples  of  contemporary  portraiture, 
recovered  from  palaeolithic  caves  of  Europe,  would  be  prized 
above  all  other  relics  of  its  Mammoth  or  Eeindeer  period. 
Nevertheless,  striking  as  is  the  character  of  the  art  of  the 
Aligdwi,  it  differs  only  in  degree  of  merit  from  that  of  many 

•       *  Hommes  fossUes  et  Hovimes  sauvages,  p.  49. 


f  • :  1 


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2l6 


THE  ^STHETjC  faculty 


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I* 


■ym- 


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modoru  Indian  races ;  and  in  some  of  the  Algonkin  stone- 
pipes  Ihe  human  figure  is  carved  with  well-proportioned 
symmetry.  In  such  carvings,  moreover,  even  when  expended 
on  the  decoration  of  the  pipe, — which  was  employed  among  so 
many  native  tribes  in  their  most  important  ceremonial  and 
religious  observances, — there  is  rarely  anything  to  suggest  a 
higher  aim  of  the  artist  than  mere  decoration.  The  same  may 
be  assumed  of  the  ancient  carvers,  in  such  work  as  they 
expended  on  the  hafts  of  the  daggers  found  at  Montastrue  or 
Laugerie  Basse.  But  when  a  carefully  executed  linear  drawing 
occurs  on  a  rough  slab  of  schist,  with  its  fractured  edges  left 
untrimmed,  as  is  the  case  in  examples  from  the  caves  of  Les 
Eysies  and  Massat,  the  artist  manifestly  had  some  other 
purpose  in  view ;  and  this  I  conceive  to  have  been  the  earliest 
stage  of  ideography  or  picture-writing.  He  was  communicating 
facts  in  detail  by  means  of  his  pencil  which  his  best  attempts 
at  verbal  description  would  have  failed  to  convey. 

Language  is  even  now  a  very  inadequate  means  of  com- 
municating to  others  specific  ideas  of  form ;  and  some  of  the 
most  fluent  lecturers  in  those  departments  of  science,  such  as 
geology,  biology,  and  anthropology,  in  which  there  is  a  frequent 
demand  for  the  appreciation  of  details  in  form  and  structure, 
habitually  resort  to  the  chalk  and  blackboard.  Students  of 
my  own  earlier  days  will  recall,  as  among  their  most  pleasant 
memories,  the  facile  pencil  with  which  the  gifted  naturalist, 
Edward  Forbes,  seemed  equally  eloquent  with  hand  and  tongue ; 
and  no  one  who  enjoyed  the  lucid  demonstrations  of  Agassiz 
in  the  same  fields  of  scientific  research  can  think  of  him  other- 
wise than  with  chalk  in  hand.  To  the  uncultured,  yet 
strangely  gifw.d  Troglodyte  of  the  primaeval  dawn,  language 
was  still  more  inadequate  for  his  requirements ;  and  hence,  as 
I  imagine,  the  facile  pencil  was  in  frequent  requisition  for 
purposes  of  demonstration,  with  ever-growing  skill  to  the 
practised  hand.  Professor  de  Quatrefages,  who  has  enjoyed 
unusually  favourable  opportunities  for  the  study  of  those 
productions,  thus  directs  attention  to  their  artistic  merits  :  "  The 
art  of  the  draughtsman,  or  rather  of  the  engraver,  almost  con- 
stantly applied  to  the  representation  of  animals,  was  first  tried 
on  bone  or  horn.  They  have  attempted  it  on  stone.  The 
burin  must  have  been  almost  always  a  mere  pointed  flint. 


yet 

lage 

3,  as 

for 

the 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


317 


int. 


With  this  instrument,  imperfect  thou<,'h  it  was,  the  Troglodytes 
of  the  Eeindeer  age  succeeded  by  degrees  in  producing  results 
altogether  remarkable.  The  first  lines  are  simple  and  more  or 
less  vague.  At  a  later  stage  they  become  more  defined,  and 
acquire  a  singular  firmness  and  precision ;  the  principal  lines 
become  deeper ;  details,  such  as  the  fur  and  mane,  are  indi- 
cated by  lighter  lines,  and  even  the  shading  is  expressed  by 
delicate  hatching.  But  what  is  nearly  always  apparent  is  a 
sense  of  truthful  realisation,  and  the  exact  copying  of  charac- 
teristics which  enable  us  often  to  recognise  not  only  the  order, 
but  the  precise  species,  which  the  artist  wished  to  represent. 
The  bear,  engraved  on  a  piece  of  schist  which  was  found  by 
M.  Garrigou  in  the  lower  cave  at  Massat,  with  the  character- 
istic projecting  forehead,  can  be  no  other  than  the  cave -bear, 
the  bones  of  which  were  recovered  by  that  observer  in  the 
same  place.  When  we  compare  the  drawings  and  anatomical 
details  of  the  Siberian  mammoth  with  the  engraving  on  ivory 
discovered  by  M.  Lartet  at  La  Madeleine,  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  recognising  the  Elephas  primiyennis  which  existed 
throughout  the  Glacial  period,  and  which  has  been  recovered 
entire  in  the  frozen  soil  of  Northern  Asia.  Oxen,  wild  goats, 
the  stag,  the  antelope,  the  otter,  the  beaver,  the  horse,  the 
aurochs,  whales,  certain  species  of  fish,  etc.,  have  been  found 
recognisable  with  the  like  certainty.  The  reindeer  especially 
is  frequently  represented  with  remarkable  skill.  This  may  be 
seen  by  the  engraving  found  near  Thayingen,  in  Switzer- 
land." 1 

M.  de  Quatrefages  is  disposed  to  estimate  the  artistic  merit 
of  the  carvings  in  ivory  as  even  greater  than  that  of  the  draw- 
ings or  etchings.  But  specific  form  and  contour  are  more 
easily  realisable  than  their  indication  on  a  plane  surface.  To 
do  full  justice  to  the  '  wonderful  skill  of  the  Troglodyte  draughts- 
man, we  must  compare  the  most  highly  finished  paintings  on 
Egyptian  temples  and  tombs  with  the  works  of  their  sculptors ; 
or  even  the  perfect  realisations  of  the  Greek  sculptors'  chisel, 
with  drawings  on  the  most  beautiful  Hellenic  vases.  The 
mastery  of  perspective  as  shown  in  some  of  the  works  of  those 
palgeolithic  artists  is  remarkable  when  compared,  for  example, 
with  the  Assyrian  bas-reliefs;  not  to  speak  of  the  infantile 
^  Hommes  fossiles,  etc.,  p.  46. 


i 


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'A 


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THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


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V      i 


i 


efforts  of  the  Chinese  on  their  otherwise  justly  prized  ceramic 
ware. 

The  potter's  art  is  at  all  times  an  interesting  study  to  the 
archaeologist.  We  owe  to  Etruscan  and  Hellenic  fictile  ware 
our  sole  knowledge  of  painting,  contemporary  with  the  most 
gifted  masters  of  the  sculptor's  art.  But  it  is  in  the  form, 
rather  than  the  decoration,  that  the  chief  excellency  of  the  art 
of  the  potter  consists.  It  is  one  of  the  plastic  arts.  The  clay 
in  the  hands  of  the  skilled  modeller  is  even  more  facile  than 
the  pencil  of  the  draughtsman ;  and  the  distinction  between  the 
purely  decorative  sports  oi  an  exuberant  fancy,  and  the  pur- 
posed symbolism  of  the  carver  or  painter,  is  nowhere  more 
strikingly  manifest  than  in  the  modellings  of  the  ingenious 
worker  in  clay.  But  fictile  art  belongs,  for  the  most  part,  to 
periods  greatly  more  recent  than  that  of  the  ancient  Stone 
age.  Not  that  the  work  of  the  primitive  potter  involved  such 
laboriously  accumulated  skill  as  lay  beyond  reach  of  the  pala3o- 
lithic  carver  and  uraughtsman ;  for  clay  cylinders  from  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates,  and  the  terra-cottas  from  the  Nile  valley, 
carry  us  back  to  times  that  long  antedate  definite  history 
But  alike  among  the  ancient  cave-dwellers  of  Aquitaine,  and 
the  modern  Eskimo,  the  prevailing  conditions  of  an  Arctic  or 
semi- Arctic  climate  rendered  clay,  fuel,  and  other  needful  appli- 
ances so  rarely  available,  that  among  the  latter,  their  pots  and 
lamps  are  fashioned  for  the  most  part  of  the  Lwpis  ollaris,  or 
potstone.  But  traces  of  the  pottery  of  many  periods  and  races 
abound,  and  furnish  interesting  materials  for  comparison.  The 
aptitude  of  the  potter's  claj'  for  a  display  of  skill,  alike  in 
modelling  and  in  tracing  on  the  surface  imitative  designs  and 
ornamental  patterns,  renders  the  fictile  ware  of  widely  different 
eras  a  ready  test  of  aesthetic  feeling,  as  well  as  a  trustwortliy 
guide  to  the  age  and  race  of  its  artificers.  To  the  ancient 
cave-men,  to  whose  skill  such  carvings  as  the  reindeer  from 
Laugerie  Basse,  or  Montastrne,  are  due,  modelling  in  clay 
would  have  been  as  easy  and  natural  as  to  the  modr  -n  sculp- 
tor ;  and  pottery,  if  well  burnt,  when  not  exposed  to  violence, 
is  little  less  durable  than  flint  or  stone.  The  rarity,  or  total 
absence,  of  pottery  among  the  contents  of  the  palseolithic  caves 
accords  wit^^  other  indications  of  a  rigorous  climate.  A  piece 
of  plain  earthenware  was,  indeed,  recovered  from  the  Belgian 


11^ 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


219 


cave  of  Trou  de  Frontal ;  and  Sir  W.  Dawson,  in  his  Fossil 
Men,  calls  attention  to  the  discovery,  recorded  by  Fournal  and 
Christie,  of  fragments  of  pottery  in  the  mud  and  breccia  of 
caverns  in  the  south  of  France,  along  with  bones  of  man  and 
animals,  including  those  of  the  hy£i3na  and  rhinoceros.  Those, 
however,  whatever  be  their  true  epoch,  are  mere  potsherds, 
valuable  in  so  far  as  they  indicate  the  practice  of  the  potter's 
art  at  such  a  time,  but  furnishing  no  illustration  of  skill  in 
modelling. 

The  pottery  found  in  graves  of  the  Neolithic  period  is 
mostly  so  imperfectly  burned,  that,  however  abundant  it  may 
have  been,  it  could  scarcely  leave  a  trace  in  the  breccia,  or 
river  gravel,  from  which  the  larger  number  of  relics  of  palseo- 
lithic  man  have  been  recovered.  But  the  pottery  and  terra- 
cottas which  abound  on  the  sites  of  Indian  villages  in  North 
America  eve^-ywhere  exhibit  traces  of  imitative  art,  in  the 
efforts  at  modelling  the  human  form,  and  the  more  or  less 
successful  reproduction  of  familiar  natural  objects.  Squier 
remarks  in  his  "  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  the  State  of  New 
York,"  that  "  upon  the  site  of  every  Indian  town,  as  also 
within  all  of  the  ancient  enclosures,  fragments  of  pottery  occur 
in  great  abundance.  It  is  rare,  however,  that  any  entire 
vessels  are  recovered.  ...  In  general  there  was  no 
attempt  at  ornament;  but  sometimes  the  tAteriors  of  the  pots 
and  vases  were  elaborately,  if  not  tastefully,  ornamented  with 
dots  and  lines,  which  seem  to  have  been  formed  in  a  very  rude 
manner  with  a  pointed  stick  or  sharpened  bone.  Bones  which 
appear  to  have  been  adapted  for  the  purpose  are  often  found."^ 
Ornamentation  of  a  more  artistic  kind  appears  to  have  been 
most  frequently  reserved  by  the  native  workers  in  clay  for 
their  pipes,  to  which  at  times  a  sacred  character  was  attached, 
and  on  which  accordingly  they  lavished  their  highest  skill  as 
modellers  and  carvers.  Some  of  the  smaller  articles  of  burnt 
clay,  however,  which  Squier  denominates  terra-cottas,  were 
probably  fragments  of  domestic  pottery  similar  to  those  here- 
after described  among  the  relics  of  the  ancient  Indian  town  of 
Hochelaga.  One  example  of  an  ingeniously  modelled  pipe, 
found  within  an  enclosure  in  Jefferson  County,  New  York,  is 
specially  selected  as  a  good  iUustration  of  Indian  art.  It  is  of 
*  SmitJisonian  Con^biUions  to  Knowledge,  ii,  75. 


220 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


fil 


fine  red  clay,  smoothly  moulded,  with  two  serpents  coiling 
round  the  bowl.  "  Bushels  of  fragments  of  pipes,"  he  adds, 
"  have  been  found  within  the  same  enclosure."  A  carved  stone 
pipe,  from  a  grave  in  Cayuga  County,  is  described  as  fashioned 
in  the  form  of  a  bird  with  eyes  made  of  silver  inserted  in  the 
head,  and  Mr.  Squier  notes  of  another  specimen  :  "  The  most 
beautiful  terra-cotta  which  I  found  in  the  State,  and  which  in 
point  of  accuracy  and  delicacy  of  finish  is  unsurpassed  by  any 
similar  article  which  I  have  seen  of  aboriginal  origin,  is  the 
head  of  a  fox.  The  engraving  fails  to  convey  the  spirit  of  the 
original,  which  is  composed  of  fine  clay  slightly  burned.  It 
seems  to  have  been  once  attached  to  a  body,  or  perhaps  to  a 
vessel  of  some  kind.  It  closely  resembles  some  of  the  terra- 
cottas from  the  mounds  of  the  west  and  south-west.  It  was 
found  upon  the  site  of  an  ancient  enclosure  in  Jefferson 
County,  in  the  town  of  Ellisburg."  Again,  in  d  ^S:  nbing  some 
similar  relics  from  the  site  of  an  old  Seneca  village  in  Munroe 
County,  he  adds  :  "  The  spot  is  remarkable  for  the  number  and 
variety  of  its  ancient  relics.  Vast  quantities  of  these  have 
been  removed  from  time  to  time.  Some  of  the  miniature 
representations  of  animals  found  here  are  remarkable  for  their 
accuracy."  ^ 

The  descriptions  thus  furnished  of  the  traces  of  aboriginal  art 
in  the  State  of  New  York  closely  correspond  to  the  remains 
recovered  on  the  sites  of  ancient  Indian  villages  in  Canada. 
A  finely  modelled  clay-pipe,  with  a  serpent  twined  round  it, 
and  holding  a  human  head  in  its  jaws,  now  in  my  possession, 
was  dug  up,  along  with  numerous  other  clay -pipes,  bop;  ;  ips, 
and  other  relics,  in  Norfolk  County,  on  the  north  sin;'  if 
Lake  Erie.  I  also  possess  casts  of  some  ingeniously  mo^t  '  y 
clay-pipes  found  a  few  years  since  in  an  ossuary  at  L«  . 
Medad,  near  Watertown,  about  ten  miles  west  from  Hamilton, 
Ontario.  This  no  doubt  marks  the  site  of  an  ancient  town  of 
the  Attiwendaronks,  or  Neuter  Nation,  who  were  finally  con- 
quered and  driven  out  by  the  Iroquois  in  1635,  when  the  little 
remnant  that  survived  was  adopted  into  the  Seneca  nation. 
Mr.  B.  E.  Charlton,  who  explored  the  Lake  Medad  ossuaries, 
after  describing  the  human  remains,  along  with  large  tropical 
shells,  shell-beads  and  other  relics,  adds :  "  With  these  were 

^  "Aboriginal  Monuments,"  etc.,  p.  76. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


321 


found  antique  pipes  of  stone  and  clay,  many  of  them  bearing 
extraordinary  devices,  figures  of  animals,  and  of  human  heads 
wearing  the  conical  cap  noticed  on  similar  relics  in  Mexico 
and  Peru."^  Similar  discoveries  rewarded  the  researches  of 
Dr.  Tach^  in  the  Huron  ossuaries  on  the  Georgian  Bay, 
examples  of  which  are  now  in  the  museum  of  Laval 
University. 

On  the  site  of  the  famous  Indian  town  of  Hochelaga,  the 
precursor  of  the  city  of  Montreal,  detached  fragments,  in  well- 
burnt  clay,  including  modellings  of  the  human  head  and  neck, 
had  been  repeatedly  found,  before  the  recovery  of  larger 
portions  of  the  Hochelaga  pottery  showed  that  projections 
modelled  in  this  form  within  the  mouths  of  their  earthern  pots 
or  kettles  were  designed  to  admit  of  their  suspension  over  the 
fire.  Any  projection  within  the  mouth  of  the  pot  would  have 
answered  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  cord  or  withe  from  the 
risk  of  burning ;  so  that  the  moulding  of  it  into  the  human 
form  furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  play  of  the  imitative 
faculty  under  circumstances  little  calculated  to  call  it  forth. 

The  decoration  of  domestic  pottery  by  the  American  Indian 
workers  in  clay  is  greatly  developed  among  the  more  southern 
tribes.  The  ornamentation  of  a  few  prominent  points,  moulded 
more  or  less  rudely  into  human  or  animal  heads,  gives  place 
with  them  to  the  modelling  of  the  vessel  itself  into  animal 
forms,  or  to  its  decoration,  chiefly  with  human  or  animal 
figures.  Among  the  examples  of  native  art  in  the  National 
Museum  at  "Washington  are  two  large  vases,  remarkable  for 
their  elaborate  workmanship,  which  were  brought  from 
Mexico,  by  General  Alfred  Gibbs.  They  are  figured,  along 
with  other  specimens  of  Mexican  pottery  and  terra-cottas,  in 
Mr.  Charles  Eau's  account  of  the  Archaeological  Collection  of 
the  United  States  National  Museum.  They  are  there  spoken 
of  as  "  two  large  vases  of  exquisite  workmanship,"  and  one  of 
them  is  not  only  described  as  an  admirable  specimen  of  Mexi- 
can pottery,  but  it  is  added :  "As  far  as  the  general  outline  is 
concerned,  it  might  readily  be  taken  for  a  vessel  of  Etruscan  or 
Greek  origin.  The  peculiar  ornamentation,  however,  stamps  it 
at  once  as  a  Mexican  product  of  art :  "  ^  and,  it  may  be  added, 

^  Proccedinga  of  Hamilton  Association,  i.  54. 
*  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledg':,  xxii.  82. 


-r, 


'.'i&j 


M 


222 


THE  AESTHETIC  FACULTY 


in  doing  so,  places  it  in  very  marked  contrast  to  any  example 
of  Etruscan  or  Greek  workmanship.     Its  modelling,  both  in 
general  form    and  in  all    its   curious  zoomorphic  details,  is 
essentially  barbarous,  yet  manifesting  ingenious  skill  in  the 
workmanship,  and  exuberant  fancy  in  design.       The  influence 
of  Mexican  art  extended  northward;    and  its   characteristics 
may  be  traced  in  much  of  the  native  pottery  of  the  Southern 
States.     But  throughout  Mexico,   Central  America,  and  the 
Isthmus,  the  modeller  in  clay  appears  to  have  revelled  in  feats 
of  skill.     Clay  masks  and  caricatures,  and  heads  of  men  and 
animals,  in  endless  variety  of  dress   and  fashioning,  abound. 
Utility  is  in  many  cases  rendered  altogether  subsidiary  to  the 
sports  of  fancy.     Musical  instrument'?  are  made  in  the  form  of 
animals  ;  and  vases  and  earthenware  vessels  of  every  kind  are 
modelled  in  imitation  of  vegetables,  fruit,  and  shells,  or  decor- 
ated with  familiar  natural  objects.     This  is  still  more  apparent 
in   Peruvian    pottery,  where  an  unrestrained   exuberance   of 
fancy  sports   with  the   pliant    clay.     Animal  and  vegetable 
forms  are  combined.    Men  and  women  are  represented  :'n  their 
daily  avocations,  as  porters,  water-carriers,  etc.     Portrait- vases 
represent  the  human  head,  characterised  at  times  by  grace  and 
beauty;    but  more  frequently  grotesquely  caricatured.      The 
human  head  surmounts  the  lithe  body  of  the  monkey,  sporting 
in  ape-like  antics ;  melons  and  gourds  have  animal  heads  for 
spouts  ;  while  the  duck,  parrot,  toucan,  pelican,  turkey,  crane, 
land- turtle,  lynx,  otter,  deer,  llama,  cayman,  shark,  toad,  etc., 
are  ingeniously  reproduced,  singly  or  in  groups,  as  models  for 
bottles,  jars,  or  pitchers.     The  double  or  triple  goblets,  and 
two-necked  l^ottles  or  jugs,  acquire  a  fresh  interest  from  resem- 
blances traceabic  between  some  of  them  and  others  belonging 
to   distant  localities  and   remote  ages.     The  Fijians,  on  the 
extreme   western   verge  of  the  Polynesian   archipelago,  have 
already  been  referred  to  for  their  skill  in  the  finished  work- 
manship of  their  implements,  and  of  their  pottery,  some  of 
which  suggest  curious  analogies  to  Peruvian  types.     But  it  is 
more  interesting  to  note  the  apparent  reproduction  of  Egyptian, 
Etruscan,  and  other  antique  forms  in  Peruvian  fictile  ware ; 
and  to  recognise  on  the  latter  the  Vitruvian  scroll,  the  Grecian 
fret  and  other  ancient  classic  and  Assyrian  patterns — not  as 
evidence  of  common  origin,  but  as  originating  independently 


W4 


(•  u 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


333 


from  the  ornamentation  naturally  produced  in  the  work  of  the 
straw-plaiter  and  weaver.  Still  more  curious  are  their  analo- 
gies to  ancient  Asiatic  art,  as  disclosed  in  a  comparison  with 
many  of  the  objects  recovered  by  Dr.  Schliemann  on  Homeric 
sites.  Among  the  relics  which  rewarded  his  exploration  of  the 
site  of  the  classic  Ilios,  are  examples  of  double-necked  jugs, 
terra-cotta  groups  of  goblets  united  as  single  vessels,  along 
with  others  terminating  with  mouthpieces  in  the  forms  of 
liuman  or  animal  heads ;  or  modelled  with  such  quaint 
ingenuity  to  represent  the  hippopotamus,  horse,  pig,  hedgehog, 
mole,  and  other  animals,  that,  were  it  not  for  the  strange  fauna 
selected  for  imitation,  they  would  seem  little  out  of  place  in 
any  collection  of  Peruvian  pottery. 

The  same  exuberant  sportiveness  of  the  imitative  faculty, 
so  characteristic  of  the  races  of  the  New  World,  reappears  in 
productions  of  the  native  metallurgists  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America.  Casting,  engraving,  chasing,  and  carving  in  metal, 
were  all  practised  by  the  Mexicans  with  a  lavish  expenditure 
of  misspent  labour.  Ingenious  toys,  birds  and  beasts  with 
moveable  wings  and  limbs,  fish  with  alternate  scales  of  gold 
ti;-""  silver,  and  personal  ornaments  in  many  fanciful  forms, 
were  wrought  by  the  Mexican  goldsmiths  with  such  skill  that 
the  Spaniards  acknowledged  the  superiority  of  the  native 
workmanship  over  any  product  of  European  art.  The  ancient 
graves  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  have  yielded  immense 
numbers  of  gold  relics  of  the  same  class,  though  inferior  to 
the  finest  examples  described  above.  They  include  beasts, 
birds,  and  fishes,  frogs  and  other  natural  objects,  wrought  in 
gold  with  much  skill  and  ingenuity.  The  frog  is  made  with 
sockets  for  the  eyes,  an  oval  slit  in  front,  and  within  each  a 
detached  ball  of  gold,  executed  apparently  in  a  single  casting. 
Balls  of  clay  are  also  frequently  found  enclosed  in  detached 
chambers  in  the  pottery  of  the  Isthmus.  Human  figures 
wrought  in  gold,  and  monstrous  or  grotesque  hybrids,  with  the 
head  of  the  cayman,  eagle,  vulture,  and  other  animals,  attached 
to  the  human  form,  are  also  of  frequent  occurrence;  though 
in  this  class  of  works  the  modelling  of  the  human  form  is 
generally  interior  to  that  of  other  animate  designs.  All  of  those 
curious  relics  are  found  in  graves,  which,  judging  from  the 
condition  of  the  human  remains,  are  of  great  antiquity;  if, 


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224 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


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indeed,  they  do  not  point  to  the  central  cradle  and  common 
source  of  Aztec  and  Peruvian  art. 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  the  imitative  faculty,  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  very  different  degrees  among  diverse  races,  was 
widely  diffused  throaghout  the  native  tribes  of  the  American 
continent.  But,  while  a  certain  aptitude  for  art  is  seen  to  be 
prevalent  among  some  of  the  rudest  tribes,  there  were,  no 
doubt,  among  all  of  them  exceptional  examples  of  artistic 
ability.  There  were  the  Jossakeeds  and  the  Wabenos,  skilled 
in  picturing  on  bark  and  deer-skin ;  and  the  official  annalists 
or  "  Wampum-keepers,"  who  perpetuated  the  national  tradi- 
tions. Among  the  arrow-makers  were  some  famed  for  their 
dexterity  in  fashioning  the  hornstone  or  jasper  into  arrow 
heads ;  and,  while  the  art  of  the  potter  proved  no  less  easy  to 
female  hands  than  that  of  the  baker,  there  were,  doubtless, 
among  them  some  few  rarely-gifted  modellers,  whose  skill  in 
fashioning  clay  into  favourite  forms  of  imitative  art  won  them 
a  name  among  the  ceramic  artists  of  their  tribe.  Pabahmesad, 
the  old  Chippewa,  of  the  Great  Manitoulin  Island,  in  Lake 
Huron,  famed  for  his  skill  in  pipe  carving,  has  been  referred 
to  in  illustrating  the  trade  and  manufacture  of  the  Stone  age. 

The  little  remnant  of  the  once-powerful  Huron  race  now 
settled  on  the  river  St.  Charles,  near  Quebec,  expend  their 
ingenious  art  on  the  manufacture  of  bark  canoes,  snow-shoes, 
la-crosse  clubs,  basket-work,  and  moccasins.  In  this  they  show 
much  skill  and  dexterity  ;  but  among  their  most  adroit  workers 
in  recent  years  was  Zacharee  Thelariolin,  who  claimed  to  be 
the  last  full-blood  Indian  belonging  to  the  band.  He  mani- 
fested considerable  ability  as  an  artist,  had  an  apt  faculty  for 
sketching  from  nature,  and  painted  successfully  in  oil,  A 
portrait  of  himself,  in  full  Indian  costume,  now  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Clint  of  Quebec,  is  a  relic  of  much  interest 
as  the  work  of  an  untaught  native  Indian,  in  whom  the 
hereditary  imitative  faculty  thus  manifested  itself  under 
circumstances  little  calculated  to  favour  its  development.  He 
was  sixty-six  years  of  age  when  he  executed  this  portrait. 
Had  it  been  his  fortune  to  attract  the  attention  of  some 
appreciative  patron  in  early  years  he  might  have  made  a  name 
for  himself  and  his  people. 

Another  curious  and  exceptional  example  of  native  artistic 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


335 


ability  may  be  noted  here.  The  studio  of  Edmonia  Lewis,  the 
sculptor,  has  long  been  known  to  tourists  visiting  Rome,  Her 
history  is  a  curious  one.  Her  father  was  a  Negro,  and  her 
mother  a  Chippewa  Indian.  She  was  born  at  Greenbush,  on 
the  Hudson  river,  and  reared  among  the  Indians  till  the  age  of 
fourteen,  both  of  her  parents  having  diea  in  her  childhood.  Her 
Indian  name  was  Suhkuhegarequa,  or  Wildfire ;  but  she  changed 
it  to  that  by  which  she  is  now  known  on  being  admitted  to 
the  Moravian  school  at  Oberlin,  Ohio.  After  three  years 
schooling  she  went  to  Boston,  where,  it  is  said,  the  sight  of 
the  fine  statue  of  Franklin  awoke  in  her  the  ami  ition  to  be  a 
sculptor.  She  sought  out  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  in 
simple  directness  told  him  she  wanted  to  do  something  like 
the  statue  of  the  printer-statesman.  The  great  abolitionist 
befriended  her.  She  received  needful  training  in  a  local 
studio,  started  an  atelier  of  her  own,  and  when  I  saw  her  in 
Boston,  in  1864,  she  was  modelling  a  life-size  statue  emble- 
matic of  the  emancipation  of  the  race  to  which  she,  in  part, 
belonged.  Africa  was  impersonated,  raising  herself  from  a 
prostrate  attitude,  and,  with  her  hand  shading  her  eyes,  was 
looking  at  the  dawn.  Soon  after  the  sculptor  went  to  Eome, 
and  sne  has  there  executed  works  of  considerable  merit.  Her 
most  successful  productions  may  be  assumed  to  reflect  the 
artistic  aptitudes  of  her  mother's  race.  Her  two  best  works 
in  marble  are  "  Hiawatha's  Wooing "  and  "  Hiawatha's  Wed- 
ding." A  Boston  critic,  in  reviewing  her  works,  says :  "  She 
has  always  had  remarkable  power  of  manipulation,  beginning 
with  beads  and  wampum,  and  rising  to  clay.  She  has  fine 
artistic  feeling  and  talent,  a  sort  of  instinct  for  form  and  beauty 
demanding  outward  expression." 

The  wide  diffusion  of  this  imitative  faculty  and  feeling  for 
form  was  no  doubt  stimulated  by  its  employment  for  repre- 
sentative and  symbolic  purposes.  The  relation  of  imitative 
drawing  to  written  language  is  equally  manifest  in  the  graven 
records  of  the  Nile  valley  and  the  analogous  inscriptions  of 
Yucatan  or  Peru.  Quipus,  wampum,  and  all  other  mnemonic 
systems,  dependent  on  the  transmission  of  images  and  ideas 
from  one  generation  to  another,  literally,  by  word  of  mouth, 
have  within  themselves  no  such  germ  of  higher  development 
as  the  picture-writing  or  sculpturing  of  the  early  Egyptians,. 


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226 


THE  ^ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


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from  which  all  the  alphabets  of  Europe  have  been  evolved. 
The  phonetic  signs,  inherited  by  us  directly  from  the  Romans, 
seem  so  simple,  and  yet  are  of  such  priceless  value  in  their 
application,  that  it  seems  natural  to  think  of  the  letters  of 
Cadmus  as  a  gift  not  less  wonderful  than  speech;  since,  by 
their  instrumentality,  the  wise  of  all  ages  speak  to  us  still. 
Plutarch  tells,  in  his  Be  hide,  et  Osiride,  that  when  Thoth,  the 
god  of  letters,  first  appeared  on  the  earth,  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  had  no  language,  but  only  uttered  the  cries  of  animals. 
They  had,  at  least,  no  language  with  which  to  speak  to  other 
generations ;  nor  any  common  speech  to  supersede  the  con- 
fusion of  tongues  which  characterised  their  great  river  valley, 
bordering  on  Asia,  and  forming  the  highway  from  Ethiopia  to 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  light  thrown  for  us  on  the  climate, 
the  fauna,  the  people,  and  the  whole  social  life  of  Europe's 
Palaeolithic  era,  by  a  few  graphic  delineations  of  its  primitive 
artists,  suifices  to  show  how  the  northern  Thoth  may  have 
manifested  his  advent  among  thera. 

The  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  North-West,  in 
British  Columbia,  and  in  ihe  territories  of  the  United  States, 
abundantly  illustrates  the  effect  of  a  multiplicity  of  languages 
among  nomad  savages.  The  Blackfeet  are  in  reality  a  political 
and  not  an  ethnical  confederation,  with  at  least  three  distinct 
languages,  and  numerous  dialects  spoken  among  their  dispersed 
tribes.  The  same  condition  is  found  among  the  Kiawakaskaia 
Indians,  beyond  the  Eocky  Mountains.  In  the  confluence  of 
the  nomad  hun*:.rs  to  common  centres  of  trade,  speech  accord- 
ingly fails  then^  for  all  purposes  of  intercommunication ;  and 
travellers  and  fur-traders  have  long  been  familiar  with  the 
growth  of  a  common  language  at  more  than  one  of  the  chief 
meeting-places  of  diverse  tribes  and  races  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  Clatsop,  in  so  far  as  it  is  native,  is  a  dialect  of  the  Cowlitz 
language ;  but,  as  now  in  use,  it  is  one  of  the  jargons  or  "  trade 
languages  "  of  the  Pacific.  But  Fort  Vancouver,  long  one  of 
the  largest  trading-posts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  has 
been  the  special  Babel  where,  out  of  the  strangest  confusion  of 
tongues,  a  new  language  has  been  evolved. 

The  organisation  of  part  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains  into  the  province  of  British  Columbia  is  rapidly 
modifying   the   character  of  its  native  population.       But  in 


m: 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


337 


recent  years  there  were  frequently  to  be  found  at  Fort  Van- 
couver upwards  of  two  hundred  voyageurs  with  their  Indian 
wives  and  families,  in  addition  to  the  factors  and  clerks. 
Thither  also  resorted  for  trading  purposes,  Chinook,  Nootka, 
Nisqually,  Walla-walla,  Klikatat,  Kalapurgas,  Klackamuss, 
Cowlitz,  and  other  Indians.  A  discordant  Babel  of  languages 
accordingly  prevailed  ;  and  hence  the  growth  of  a  patois  by 
which  all  could  hold  intercourse  together.  The  principal  native 
tribe  of  the  locality  is  the  Chinook,  a  branch  of  the  Flathead 
Indians  on  the  Columbia  river.  They  speak  a  language  rival- 
ling that  of  the  Hottentots  in  its  seemingly  inarticulate  charac- 
ter. Some  of  its  sounds,  according  to  Dr.  Charles  Pickering, 
could  scarcely  be  represented  by  any  combination  of  known 
letters  ;  and  Paul  Kane,  who  travelled  as  an  artist  among  them, 
described  it  to  me  as  consisting  of  harsh  spluttering  sounds  pro- 
ceeding from  the  throat,  apparently  unguided  either  by  the 
tongue  or  lips.  This  language  accordingly  repelled  every 
attempt  at  its  mastery  by  others.  The  Cree  is  the  native 
language  most  familiar  to  the  traders,  many  of  their  wives 
being  Cree  women.  Both  French  and  English  are  spoken 
among  themselves  ;  while,  in  addition  to  the  tribes  already 
named,  natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Chinese,  &.m  other 
foreigners,  add  to  the  strange  character  and  speech  of  this 
miscellaneous  community.  Out  of  all  those  elements  the 
"  Chinook  jargon "  or  trade  -  language  of  the  locality  has 
fashioned  itself 

Vocabularies  of  the  Oregon  or  Chinook  jargon  have  been 
repeatedly  published  since  1838,  when  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Parker  made  the  first  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  writing.  But 
it  is  necessarily  in  an  unstable  condition,  with  local  variations 
and  a  changing  vocabulary.  The  latest  Dictionary  of  the 
Chinook  Jargon,  or  Trade  Language  of  Oregon,  is  that  of  Mr. 
George  Gibbs,  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in 
1863,  and  includes  nearly  five  hundred  words.  When  studied 
in  all  its  bearings,  it  is  a  singularly  interesting  example  of  the 
effort  at  the  development  of  a  means  of  intercommunication 
among  such  a  strange  gathering  of  heterogeneous  races.  In  an 
analysis  of  the  various  sources  of  its  vocabulary,  Mr.  Gibbs 
assigns  about  two-fifths  of  the  words  to  the  Chinook  and 
Clatsop  languages.     But  in  this  he  includes  one  of  the  most 


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T-Z/i^:  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


characteristic  elements  of  the  jargon.  The  representatives  of 
80  many  widely  dissimilar  peoples,  in  their  efforts  at  mutual 
communication,  naturally  resorted  to  diverse  forms  of  imita- 
tion ;  foremost  among  which  was  onomatopoeia.  There  are 
such  mimetic  words  as  he-he,  "  laughter  " ;  Iwh-hoh,  "  to  cough  " ; 
tish-tish,  "  to  drive  "  ;  lip-lip,  "  to  boil  "  ;  poh,  "  to  blow  out  "  ; 
tik-tik,  "  a  watch  "  ;  tin-lin  or  ting-ling,  "  a  bell  "  ;  tum-tum, 
"  the  heart,"  from  its  pulsation  ;  and  hence  a  number  of  modi- 
fications in  which  the  heart  is  used  as  equivalent  to  mind  or 
will,  etc.  Again,  varying  intonations  are  resorted  to  in  order 
to  express  different  shades  of  meaning,  as  sey-ymu,  "  far  off,"  in 
which  the  first  syllable  is  lengthened  out  according  to  the  idea 
of  greater  or  less  distance  indicated.  Many  of  their  words,  as 
in  all  interjectional  utterances,  depend  for  their  specific  meaning 
on  the  intonations  of  the  speaker.  Such  utterances  play  so 
small  a  part  in  our  own  speech,  that  we  are  apt  to  overlook 
the  force  of  the  interrogative,  affirmative,  and  negative  tones, 
and  even  the  change  of  meaning  that  is  often  produced  by  the 
transfer  of  emphasis  from  one  to  another  word.^  But  with 
such  an  imperfect  means  of  intercommunication  as  the  trade 
jargon,  there  is  a  constant  motive  not  only  to  help  out  the 
meaning  by  expressive  intonation,  but  also  by  signs  or  gesture- 
language.  "A  horse,"  for  example,  is  hmtan;  but  "  riding"  or 
"  on  horseback  "  is  expressed  by  accompanying  the  word  with 
the  gesture  of  two  fingers  placed  astride  over  the  other  hand. 
Tenas  is  "  little  "  or  "  a  child, " — in  the  latter  case,  accom- 
panied by  the  gesture  suggestive  of  its  size, — or  it  may  mean 
"  an  infant,"  by  the  first  syllable  being  prolonged  to  indicate 
that  it  is  very  small.  In  addition  to  all  this,  words  are 
borrowed  from  all  sources ;  and  the  miscellaneous  vocabulary 
is  completed  from  English,  French,  Cree,  Ojibway,  Nootka, 
Chihalis,  Nisqually,  Kalapuy,  and  other  tongues. 

The  late  Paul  Kane  is  my  authority  for  some  of  the  details 

^  The  Rev.  Mark  Pattison,  according  to  one  biographer,  Mr.  Althaus,  had  culti- 
vated a  habit  of  reticence,  till  it  became  one  of  his  most  marked  characteristics. 
His  usual  response  to  any  remark  was  "  Ah "  ;  but  his  biographer  adds  :  "It 
was  interesting  to  observe  of  what  a  variety  of  shades  of  meaning  that  character- 
istic ejaculation  '  Ah  '  was  capable.  Many  times  it  was  his  sole  answer.  Mostly 
it  signified  that  something  had  aroused  his  interest ;  sometimes  it  conveyed 
approval,  sometimes  <4urprise,  sometimes  doubt ;  sometimes  it  was  said  in  a  way 
that  indicated  he  did  not  wish  to  express  himself  on  the  point  in  question." 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


339 


-•^1 


of  intonation  and  gesture-language.      He  brought  back  with 
him  a  valuable  collection  of  studies  of  the  different  races  in 
British   North   America  ;    and,  by   means  of  the  jargon,   he 
learned  in  a  short  time  to  converse  without  dilhcnlty  with  the 
chiefs  of  most  of  the  tribes  around  Fort  Vancouver.     But  as 
an  artist  he  was  in  constant  use  of  his  pencil ;  and,  as  he  told 
me,  he  frequently  appealed  to  it,  sketching  himself,  or  at  times 
putting  his  pencil  and  note-book  into  their  hands,  with  con- 
siderable  success  in   thus   supplementing  less  definite   signs. 
The  gesture-language  furnishes  Cheyenne,  Dakota,  Apache,  and 
other  signs  for  "  paint,  colour,  draw,"  and  "  write  "  ;  the  act  of 
writing  or  drawing  being  expressed  by  holding  up  the  palm  of 
one  hand  and  moving  the  forefinger  of  the  other  over  it,  as  if 
drawing.     The  jargon  has  also  its  word  pent,  "  paint,"  trans- 
formed to  a  verb  by    prefixing    the  word    mamook,  "  to    do, 
to  make " ;    and  its  tzum,   "  painting,"  or  "  mixed  colours  "  ; 
mamooktzum,   "  to  paint."        In   the  gesture-language   of  the 
Dakotas  and  Apaches  the  equivalent  sign  is  primarily  indicative 
of  daubing  the  face  with  colour ;  but  the  tribes  of  the  Pacific 
coast  paint  their  masks,  boats,  and  houses  in  diverse  coloured 
devices,  with  some  degree  of  taste.     There  is,  therefore,  reason 
to  look  for  terms  expressive  of  the  art  in  any  language  in  use 
among  them  ;  though  the  habitual  employment  of  signs  may  in 
some  cases  check  the  evolution  of  phonetic  equi\'alents.     But 
among  many  tribes  gesture-language  has  been  systematised  into 
universally  recognised  pictographs,  and  so  developed  into  a  native 
system  of  hieroglyphics. 

Among  the  Algonkin,  Lenape,  Iroquois,  and  other  northern 
tribes,  and  in  the  region  comprising  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
Colorado,  and  other  south-western  territory,  rock  carvings  and 
pictographs  abound.  Wherever  large  surfaces  of  rock,  or  slabs 
of  stone,  offer  a  favourable  opportunity  for  such  records,  they 
are  found,  at  times  executed  with  great  elaboration  of  detail. 
But  less  durable  records  are  in  use,  dependent  on  the  materials 
most  available  to  the  scribe.  The  Algonkins  and  Iroquois 
ordinarily  resort  to  birch  bark  ;  the  Crees,  Blackfeet,  and  other 
prairie  Indians,  substitute  the  dressed  skins  of  the  buffalo ; 
while,  as  already  noted,  the  tribes  on  the  Pacific  coast,  as  well  as 
the  Innuit  and  Eskimo,  employ  deer  horn  and  ivory.  In  the 
South- West,  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Southern  California,  the 


ajo 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


X  Ij 


sculptured  pietograph,  after  being  incised  on  the  surface  of  a 
rock,  or  the  wall  of  a  cave,  is  frequently  finished  by  colouring 
in  much  the  same  way  as  was  the  custom  with  the  aucieut 
Egyptian  chroniclers. 

Among  a  series  of  reports  to  the  Topograpliical  Bureau, 
issued  from  the  War  Department  at  Washington,  in  1850,  is 
the  journal  of  a  military  reconnaissance  from  Santa  Fd,  New 
Mexico,  to  the  Navajo  Country,  by  Lieutenant  James  K.  Simp- 
sou  of  the  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers.     His  narrative  is 
accompanied   with   a  map   and  illustrations  of  a  remarkable 
series  of  inscriptions,  engraved  on  the  smooth  surface  of  a  rock 
callod  the  Moro.      They  are  of  two  classes,  the  native  picto- 
graphs,  and  also  numerous  Spanish  inscriptions  and  devices ; 
one  of  which  records  the  hasty  visit  of  an  old  Spanish  explorer 
to  the  Moro  Eock  in  1606.     The  route  of  Lieutenant  Simpson 
lay  up  the  valley  of  the  Rio  de  Zuni,  where  he  met  an  old 
trader  among  the  Navajos,  who  was  waiting  to  offer  his  services 
as  guide  to  a  iDck,  upon  the  face  of  which  were,  according  to 
his  repeated  assertions,  "  half  an  acre  of  i    ^riptions."     After 
travelling    about   eight    miles,  through    >        "intry  diversified 
by   cliffs   of  basalt   and  red  and   white   ^uuustone,  in   every 
variety  of  bold  and  fantastic  form,  they  came  in  sight  of  a 
quadrangular  mass  of  white  sandstone  rock,  from    200    feet 
to  250  feet   in   height.      This  was  the  Moro,  or  Inscription 
Rock,  on  ascending  a  low  mound  at  the  base  of  which,  the 
journalist  states,    "  sure    enough  here  were  inscriptions,  and 
some  of  them  very  beautiful ;    and  although,  with  those  we 
afterwards  examined  on  the  south  face  of  the  rock,  there  could 
not  be  said  to  be  half  an  acre  of  them,  yet  the  hyperbole  was 
not  near  so  extravagant  as  I  was  prepared  to  find  it."     The 
inscriptions,  some  in  Spanish,  and  others  in  Latin,  apparently 
include  examples  nearly  coeval  with  the  conquest  of  this  region, 
by  Juan  de  Onate,  in  1595  ;  and  from  their  historical  interest 
they  naturally  received   greater  attention  from  the  Topogra- 
phical Corps  than  the  Indian  hieroglyphics.     But  the  same 
locality  was  visited  at  a  later  date  by  surveyors  appointed  to 
ascertain  the  most  practicable  route  for  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific 
coast ;    and  in  a  Report  of  explorations  and  surveys,  published 
by  the  Senate   of   the   United  States  in   1856,  Lieutenant 
Whipple  furnishes  an  interesting  series  of  Indian  hieroglyphics 


IN  ABORIGINAL  HArRS 


131 


or  pictographs  seen  on  his  route.  "  The  first  of  the  Indian 
hieroglyphics,"  he  remarks,  "  were  at  Rocky  Dell  Creek,  between 
the  edge  of  the  Llano  Estacado  and  the  Canadian.  The  stream 
flows  through  a  gorge,  upon  one  side  of  which  a  shelving  sand- 
stone rock  forms  a  sort  of  cave.  The  roof  is  covered  with 
paintings,  some  evidently  ancient ;  and  beneath  are  innumer- 
able carvings  of  footprints,  animals,  and  symmetrical  lines."  * 
Examples  of  these  are  given  ;  but  of  one  series,  the  sketches 
of  which  had  been  lost,  Lieutenant  Whipple  remarks  :  "  This 
series,  more  than  the  others,  seems  to  represent  a  chain  of 
historical  events,  being  embraced  by  serpentine  lines.  First  is 
a  rude  sketch,  resembling  a  sliip  with  sails ;  then  comes  a 
horse  with  gay  trappings,  a  man  with  a  long  speaking-trumpet 
being  mounted  upon  him,  while  a  little  bare-legged  Indian 
stands  in  wonder  behind.  Below  this  group  are  several 
singular-looking  figures  :  men  with  the  horns  of  an  ox,  with 
arms,  hands,  and  fingers  extended  as  if  in  astonishment,  and 
with  clawed  feet  Followin  the  curved  line  we  come  to  the 
circle,  enclosing  a  Spanish  cuballero,  who  extends  his  hands  in 
amity  to  the  naked  Indian  standing  without.  Next  appears  a 
group  with  an  officer,  and  a  priest  bearing  the  emblem  of 
Christianity."  The  Pueblo  Indians,  who  still  worship  the  sun, 
recognised  in  those  picturings  records  of  the  thoughts  and 
deeds  of  their  ancestors.  They  pointed  to  representations  of 
Montezuma,  whom  they  still  expect  to  return,  and  who  is  regarded 
as  a  divine  power ;  and  recognised  in  the  horned  men  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  buffalo-dance,  from  time  immemorial  a  national 
festival,  at  which  they  crowned  themselves  with  horns  and  corn- 
shucks.  The  drawing  is  in  all  probability  an  historical  record 
executed  at  a  date  not  long  subsequent  to  the  first  intrusion  of 
the  Spaniards. 

Lieutenant  Whipple  next  describes  the  carvings  found  at 
El  Moro  inscription  rock  where,  he  says,  "  Spanish  adventurers 
and  explorers,  from  as  early  a  period  as  the  first  settlement  of 
Plymouth,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  recording  their  expeditions 
to  and  from  Zuni."  He  refers  for  those  to  Captain  Simpson's 
report  upon  the  Navajo  expedition;  but  specimens  of  the 
Indian  drawings  are  given,  which,  he  says,  "  are  evidently 

'  Beports  of  Explorations  and  Surveys  for  BouU  for  a  Bailroad  to  Pacific 
Ocean,  1885.     Part  iii.  p.  39. 


232 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


%^^\ 


m 


Vj-.1*. 


more  ancient  than  the  oldest  of  the  Spanish  inscriptions."  ^ 
The  latter  ere,  for  the  most  part,  regular  literal  records  in  the 
Spanish  or  ^  atin  language,  with  names,  and,  in  a  few  instances, 
the  date  of  their  engraving.  But  the  European  epigraphists 
appear  at  times  to  have  borrowed  the  ideographic  art  of  their 
Indian  guides,  from  the  way  several  of  their  inscriptions  are 
accompanied  with  pictoria,!  devices,  or  rebuses,  somewhat  after 
the  native  fashion  of  writing.  One,  for  example,  which  reads 
Pito  Vaca  ye  Jarde,  has  also  the  symbol  of  the  Vaca,  or  "  cow." 
Another  group,  consisting  of  certain  initials  interwoven  into  a 
monogram,  accompanied  by  an  open  hand  with  a  double  thumb, 
all  enclosed  in  cartouche-fashion,  is  supposed  by  the  transcriber 
to  be,  even  moi'e  than  the  previous  bit  of  pictorial  symbolism, 
a  pictured  pun.  "  The  characters,"  he  remarks,  "  in  the  double 
rectangle  seem  to  be  literally  a  sign-manual,  and  may  possibly 
be  symbolical  of  Francisco  Manuel,  though  the  double  thumb 
would  peem  to  indicate  something  more."  The  Provincial 
Secretary,  Donaciano  Vigil,  after  noting  for  Lieutenant  Simpson 
some  data  relative  to  the  Spanish  inscriptions,  adds :  "  The 
other  signs  or  characters  are  traditional  reniembrances,  by 
means  of  which  the  Indians  transmit  historical  accounts  of  all 
their  remarkable  successes.  To  discover  (or  interpret)  these 
sets  by  themselves,  is  very  difficult.  Some  of  the  Indians 
make  trifling  indications,  which  divulge,  with  a  great  coal  of 
reserve,  something  of  the  history,  to  persons  in  whom  they 
have  entire  confidence." 

On  the  summit  of  the  cliff  the  ruins  of  a  pueblo 
of  bold  native  masonry  formed  a  rectangle  of  206  feet 
by  307  feet,  around  which  lay  an  immerse  accumulation 
of  broken  pottery  of  novel  and  curious  pi  cterns.  At  Los 
Ojos  Calientes,  Lieutenant  Simpson  visited  the  'Muffas, 
buildings  one  story  high,  called  the  churches  of  Montezuma. 
"  On  the  walls  were  representations  of  plants,  birds,  and 
animals ;  the  turkey,  the  deer,  the  wolf,  the  fox,  and  the  dog, 
being  plainly  depicted ;  none  of  them,  however,  approaching 
to  exactness  except  the  deer,  the  outline  of  which  showed 
certainly  a  good  eye  for  proportion."  These  are  the  work  of 
the  Jemez  Indians,  who  worshipped  the  sun,  moon,  and  fire ; 

*  Reports  of  Explorations  <md  Swrwys/or  Boutefor,'  a  Railroad  to  Paeifie  Ocean, 
1885.     Part  iii.  p.  39. 


Lons, 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


833 


representations  of  which  in  circular  form,  and  with  zigzag 
barbed  lines  for  lightning,  also  occur  on  the  walls.^  Lieutenant 
Simpson  remarks  that  he  asked  a  Jemez  Indian  "  Whether  they 
still  worshipped  the  Sun,  as  God,  with  contrition  of  heart." 
His  reply  was  :  "  Why  not  ?     He  governs  the  World  ! " 

Dr.  Hoffman  figures  and  interprets  a  curious  rock-painting, 
copied  by  him  from  a  granite  boulder  at  Tulare  river,  California. 
It  covers  an  area  of  about  twelve  feet  by  eight ;  and  the  largest 
figure  is  about  six  feet  in  length,  and  appears  to  be  the  work 
of  an  advanced  party  of  native  explorers,  intended  fcv  the 
guidance  of  those  who  followed  on  their  trail.^  Dr.  Hoffman 
also  furnishes  some  interesting  illustrations  of  the  reproduction 
of  gesture -language  in  native  pictographs  preserved  in  the 
Museum  of  San  Francisco.  Certain  symbols  are  in  very 
general  use.  But  the  description  of  an  Innuit  drawing  on 
a  slat  of  wood,  as  interpreted  by  a  native,  partly  in  his  own 
dialect,  but  largely  supplemented  by  gestures,  will  best  illustrate 
this  development  of  a  system  of  picture-writing  among  a  savage 
people.  A  human  figure  directs  his  right  hand  to  his  own  side, 
while,  with  his  left,  he  points  away  from  him.  This  is  the  Ego, 
the  personal  pronoun  /.  Again,  a  simple  tracing  of  the  like 
figure,  successively  with  a  boat-paddle  over  his  head ;  his  right 
hand  to  the  side  of  his  head ;  one  finger  elevated ;  his  hand 
stretclied  out  in  the  direction  indicated,  with  his  harpoon, 
or  his  bow  and  arrow,  expresses  his  various  actions.  A  spot 
enclosed  in  a  circle,  and  again  a  blank  circle,  mark  the  islands 
— inhabited  or  uninhabited, — to  which  he  is  bound.  A  canoe, 
with  two  persons  in  it,  defines  tlie  number  going  and  the  mode 
of  transport ;  a  phoca,  or  other  animal,  indicates  the  prey ;  and 
the  record  closes  with  an  outline  of  the  house,  or  tent,  towards 
which  the  canoe  is  directed.  The  whole  is  equivalent  to  a 
written  memorandum  left  behind,  to  inform  the  members  of 
his  family  that  he  has  gone  in  his  boat  to  a  particular  island, 
where  he  will  pass  the  night, — the  right  hand  to  the  side  of 
the  head  being  a  symbol  of  sleep.  From  thence  he  will  pro- 
ceed to  another  island,  where  he  purposes  to  catch  a  seal  or 
sea-lion,  and  then  he  will  return  home.  It  is  in  no  degree 
surprising  to  find  that  nearly  the  same  symbols  are  in  use  by 

1  Reports  of  Secretary  of  War,  U.S.,  1850,  p.  67. 

"  Tranaadmis  of  Anihroj)ol.  Sot;.,  ffaahington,  iJ.  380. 


m 


234 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


h 


\  ■ 


tjiit 


widely  different  tribes ;  for,  alike  in  their  pictograj  ns  and 
gestr  js,  they  naturally  aim  at  the  most  familiar  anu  literal 
representations.  The  Eskimo  and  Alaskans  represent  death, 
in  their  drawings  and  bone  carvings,  by  the  symbol  of  a 
headless  body,  in  nearly  the  same  way  as  the  Iroquois,  the 
Algonkins,  and  the  Blackfeet.  To  this  is  added  the  spear,  the 
bow  and  arrow,  or  the  gun,  to  indicate  the  mode  of  death  by 
violence.  The  ordinary  symbol  of  sepulchral  memorial  is  the 
reversing  of  the  totem  and  other  objects  pictured  on  the  grave- 
post.  A  succession  of  lines  in  rows  or  columns  is  the  simplest 
mode  of  primitive  numeration,  perpetuated  among  the  Egj^tians 
even  so  late  as  the  Ptolemaic  dynasty.  It  appears  to  have 
been  in  use  among  the  cave-men  of  the  Vdz^re  in  palaeolithic 
times,  and  is  common  to  all  such  records.  But  in  the  Eskimo 
and  Indian  pictographs  the  elevated  hand,  with  one  or  more 
fingers  extended,  serves  for  numeration ;  and  where  the 
extended  fingers  and  thumbs  of  both  hands  are  represented 
on  an  exaggerated  scale,  it  signifies  multitude.  The  native 
gestures,  drawings,  and  spoken  languages,  have  indeed  to  be 
studied  together  to  understand  fully  the  processes  resorted  to 
for  the  expression  and  interchange  of  ideas. 

To  the  philologist,  the  efforts  at  supplying  equivalent  terms 
for  objects  and  ideas  common  to  the  many  diverse  races  furnish 
a  study  full  of  interest.  A  Chinook  or  Clatsop  word  modified 
to  saghalie,  signifying  "  above,"  or  "  high,"  is  compounded  with 
the  Nootka  tyee,  as  the  name  of  the  High  Chief,  or  God.  Mip, 
a  Chihalis  word,  signifies  "  first,"  or  "  before" ;  tilikum,  Chinook, 
is  "  people,  a  tribe,"  or  "  band"  ;  but  the  two  words  conjoined, 
elip-tilikum.,  lit.  "  the  first  people,"  is  employed  in  reference  to 
a  race  of  beings  who  preceded  the  Indians  as  inhabitants  of 
the  world,  just  as  we  speak  of  the  Antediluvians.  Ipsoot  is  the 
Chinook  word  for  "  to  hide,"  ipsoot  rvau-wau  is  "  to  hide  one's 
speech,"  i.e.  "  to  whisper."  Or,  again,  opitsah  is  a  modification 
of  the  Chinook  for  "a  knife";  opitsah -yakka-sikha,  literally, 
"  the  knife's  friend,"  is  "  a  fork."  The  same  word  is  also 
applied  to  a  sweetheart.  Such  economic  use  of  words  is 
indeed  by  no  means  rare.  But  this  branch  of  the  subject 
lies  apart  from  the  aim  of  the  present  paper.  It  may  be 
noted,  however,  in  passing,  that  many  of  the  jargon  words, 
according  to   Mr.  Gibbs,  "have  been   adopted  into  ordinary 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


235 


conversation  in  Oregon,  and  threaten  to  become  permanently 
incorporated  as  a  local  addition  to  the  English."  Mr.  Horatio 
Hale,  long  ago,  stated  as  a  result  of  his  own  observations,  at  an 
earlier  date :  "  There  are  Canadians  and  half-breeds  married  to 
Chinook  women,  who  can  only  converse  with  their  wives  in  this 
speech ;  and  it  is  the  fact,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  that  many 
young  children  are  growing  up  to  whom  thi',  factitious  language 
is  really  the  mother-tongue,  and  who  speak  it  with  more  readi- 
ness and  perfection  than  any  other."  ^  As  to  grammar,  the 
jargon  has  no  more  than  the  inevitable  rudiments  involved  in 
the  necessity  for  expressing  in  some  way  ideas  relating  to  time 
and  number;  and  in  these  directions  there  is  frequent  resort 
to  signs.  But  this,  which  accords  with  the  first  stage  of  picture- 
writing,  is  true  of  the  speech  of  many  Indian  tribes.  Their 
gesture -language  is  being  reduced  to  the  equivalent  of  a 
vocabulary,  and  is  much  more  copious  than  that  of  the  Oregon 
jargon.  In  1880  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
issued  "A  Collection  of  the  gesture -signs  and  signals  of 
the  North  American  Indians";  and  although  this  was  only 
designed  as  a  preliminary  step  towards  the  complete  elucidation 
of  the  subject,  it  suffices  to  show  how  important  a  part  signs 
and  gestures  play  in  the  dialogue  of  many  rude  tribes.  The 
Arapahoes,  for  example,  according  to  Burton,  "possess  a  very 
scanty  vocabulary,  and  can  hardly  converse  with  one  another 
in  the  dark.  To  make  a  st  anger  understand  them  they  must 
always  repair  to  the  camp  fire  for  pow-wow."  ^  We  are  not 
without  some  due  appreciation,  even  now,  of  the  eloquence  of 
action,  as  well  as  of  speech,  in  the  effective  orator ;  and  Charles 
Lamb,  in  one  of  the  Essays  of  Mia,  aptly  reminds  us  how 
much  even  ordinary  dialogue  owes  to  expression  for  its  full 
effect.  Candle-light,  "our  peculiar  and  household  planet,"  is 
the  theme  of  the  quaint  humorist.  "  Wanting  it,"  he  says, 
'■  what  savage  unsocial  nights  must  our  ancestors  have  spent, 
wintering  in  caves  and  unillumined  fastnesses !  .  ,  .  What 
repartees  could  have  passed,  when  you  must  have  felt  about 
for  a  smile,  and  handled  a  neighbour's  cheek  to  be  sure  that  he 
understood  it  ? "  And  so  the  grave  humorist  goes  on  to  picture 
the  privations  of  a  supper  party  in  "  those  unlanterned  nights." 

*  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  vii.  644. 
'  Burton's  City  of  the  Saints,  p.  157. 


m 


236 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


p. 


III 


'iiii-ii 


\\:t 


But  the  Indian,  in  many  cases,  resorts  to  the  pencil,  or  its 
equivalent,  for  the  elucidation  of  subjects  in  which  language 
fails  him.  He  will  take  a  burnt  stick  and  draw  a  map 
indicating  the  route  that  has  to  be  taken,  the  portages  on  a 
river,  or  the  trail  through  the  forest,  after  he  has  failed  by  signs 
and  gestures  to  convey  his  meaning;  and  he  can  interpret 
with  ease  the  drawings  of  Indians  of  other  tribes.  When 
camping  out  on  the  Nepigon  Kiver  in  1866,  with  Indian 
guides  from  the  Saskatchewan,  who  were  strangers  to  the 
locality,  they  interpreted  the  drawings  or  carvings  on  a  soft 
metamorphic  rock  overlaid  by  the  syenite  of  that  district; 
and  were  able  thereby  to  tell  us  who  had  preceded  them,  and 
to  determine  the  route  we  should  take.  Lieutenant  Whipple 
in  the  narration  of  his  route  near  the  thirty-fifth  parallel, 
remarks :  "  Near  the  Llano  Extacado  were  seen  Pueblo 
Indians  from  San  Domingo.  After  an  introductory  smoke 
they  became  quite  communicative,  furnishing  curious  informa- 
tion as  to  their  traditions  and  peculiar  faith.  When  ques- 
tioned regarding  the  numbers  and  positions  of  the  Pueblos  in 
New  Mexico,  they  rudely  traced  upon  the  ground  a  sketch 
from  which  a  map  of  the  country  is  reproduced  in  the  Govern- 
ment Reports."  ^  The  Rev.  Dr.  O'Meara,  for  many  years  a 
missionary  among  the  Ojibway  Indians  of  Lake  Superior,  thus 
writes  to  me :  "  The  Indians  were  always  pictorial,  even  in 
common  conveisation,  i.t.  they  liked  to  explain  what  they 
meant  by  making  figures ;  and  always,  if  you  asked  one  of 
them  for  information  as  to  the  route  to  any  place,  he  would 
make  a  rough  map  of  it,  either  on  the  sand  or  on  a  piece  of 
birch  bark."  This  fully  accords  with  my  own  experience.  I 
have  repeatedly  seen  Indian  guides  take  a  piece  of  birch  bark 
and  indicate  on  it  some  idea  otherwise  inexpressible  from  our 
ignorance  of  any  common  language.  Their  map-making  must 
be  familiar  to  all  who  have  travelled  much  with  Indian  guides. 
They  delineate  with  much  accuracy  the  leading  geographical 
features  of  any  familiar  locality.  I  have  in  my  note-books 
sketches  made  by  Indians,  when  I  have  placed  the  pencil 
in  their  hand,  and  indicated  by  signs  some  information  I 
desired  to  obtain,  about  game,  fishing,  or  other  matters  familiar 
to  them;  or  about  their  own  tribal  relationships,  which  they 
^  Explorations  and  Surveys,  Washington,  1866,  iii.  10,  36. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


237 


generally  express  in  totemic  fashion  by  their  symbolic  bear, 
deer,  beaver,  eagle,  turtle,  or  otxier  animal.  Such  signs  of  the 
clan,  tribe,  or  nation  are  familiar  to  every  Indian,  as  well  as 
the  ideographs  of  his  own  and  others'  names ;  and  when 
represented  on  the  roll  of  birch  bark,  painted  on  the  chiefs 
buffalo  robe,  or  inverted  on  his  grave-post,  they  can  be  inter- 
preted with  the  same  facility  with  which  an  heraldic  student 
discerns  the  family  history  on  the  painted  hatchment  or  the 
sculptured  shields  of  some  noble  mausoleum. 

By  an  alphabet,  strictly  so  called,  we  understand  a  series 
of  symbols  which  have  become  the  conventional  equivalents  to 
the  eye  of  the  sounds  which  combine  to  form  the  speech  of  a 
people.  But  alpha,  beta,  etc.,  were  undoubtedly,  in  their  first 
stage,  pictures,  and  not  arbitrary  signs;  though  they  passed 
undesignedly  into  the  demotic  characters  of  the  Egyptian 
current  hand,  and  were  then  transformed,  from  ideographic 
and  syllabic  characters,  into  the  true  phonetics  out  of  which 
have  come  the  later  alphabets  of  the  civilised  world.  Egypt 
is  justly  credited  with  the  origination  of  a  system  of  writing 
which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  our  inherited  knowledge, 
and  which,  as  Bacon  says,  "  makes  ages  so  distant  to  partici- 
pate of  the  wisdom,  illuminations  and  inventions,  the  one  of 
the  other."  Yet  the  germ  of  all  this  lay  in  the  graphic 
records  of  the  palaeolithic  cave  -  men ;  and  the  very  same 
process  of  evolution  from  pure  pictorial  representation  to 
picture-writing  or  ideography,  and  so  to  arbitrary  hieroglyphic 
signs,  or  word- writing,  is  seen  in  the  graven  records  of  Copan 
or  Palenque,  and  on  the  ancient  monuments  of  the  Nile. 

It  is  replete  with  interest  thus  to  turn  aside  from  the  Old 
World,  with  all  its  wealth  of  intellectual  progress  associated 
with  the  letters  of  Cadmus,  and  find  that  in  the  western 
hemisphere  the  human  mind  has  followed  the  very  same  path 
in  its  struggle  towards  the  light.  Longfellow,  in  his  "  Song  of 
Hiawatha,"  has  interwoven  Algonkin  and  Iroquois  legends  into 
a  national  epic,  in  which  the  elements  of  Indian  progress  are 
all  traced  to  this  mythic  benefactor,  subsequently  identified  by 
Mr.  Horatio  Hale,  in  his  BooJc  of  Iroquois  Rites,  with  a  wise 
Onondaga  chief  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But,  tracing  in 
legendary  fashion  the  early  steps  of  Indian  progress,  the  poet 
represents  the  mythic  reformer  mourning  how  all  things  perish 


HI 
ill 


r 


Y 


238 


T/fE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


W 


and  pass  into  oblivion.  Even  the  great  achievements  and  the 
traditions  of  their  people  fade  away  from  the  memory  of  the 
old  men.  And  so  he  inaugurates  the  method  of  recording 
events,  which  in  reality  we  recognise  as  the  natural  product  of 
the  human  mind  in  the  exercise  of  that  imitative  faculty  which 
the  discoveries  of  comparatively  recent  years  have  revealed  to 
us  as  in  full  activity  among  the  men  of  Europe's  remote  Post- 
Glacial  era.  With  his  paints  of  diverse  colours  he  depicts  on 
the  smooth  birch  bark  simple  figures  and  symbols,  such  as  are 
to  be  seen  graven  on  hundreds  of  rocks  throughout  the  North 
American  continent,  and  are  in  constant  use  by  the  Indian  in 
chronicling  his  own  deeds  on  his  buffalo  robe,  or  recording 
those  of  the  deceased  chief  on  his  grave-post.  The  result  is  a 
simple  process  of  picture-writing,  readily  translatable,  with 
nearly  equal  facility,  into  the  language  of  every  tribe.  Deeds 
of  daring  against  Indians  or  white  men  are  set  forth  by  the 
native  chronicler,  and  the  rivals  are  clearly  indicated  by  means 
of  their  characteristic  costume  and  weapons.  Headless  figures 
are  the  symbols  of  the  dead ;  scalps  represent  his  own  special 
victims ;  and  in  like  manner  incidents  of  the  chase,  or  feats 
against  the  buffalo  or  grizzly  bear,  are  recorded  in  graphic 
picturings,  which  are  as  intelligible  as  any  monumental 
inscription  of  ancient  or  modern  times.  The  description  in 
Longfellow's  Indian  epic  of  the  celestial  and  terrestrial  symbols, 
in  actual  use  as  Algonkin  and  other  aboriginal  hieroglyphics, 
would  answer,  with  slight  modification,  for  those  still  to  be 
seen  on  the  walls  of  Egyptian  temples  and  catacombs : — 

For  the  earth  he  drew  a  straight  Hue, 
For  the  sky  a  bow  above  it ; 
White  the  span  between  for  day-time, 
Filled  with  little  stars  for  night-time ; 
On  the  left  a  point  for  sunrise, 
On  the  right  a  point  for  sunset, 
On  the  top  a  point  for  noontide ; 
And  for  rain  and  cloudy  weather 
Waving  lines  descending  from  it. 

The  picture-writing  of  the  Aztecs,  though  greatly  improved 
iu  execution,  and  simplified  by  abbreviations,  was  the  same  in 
principle  as  that  of  the  rude  northern  tribes.  The  recognised 
signs  of  the  months  and  days  of  their  calendar  are  not  greatly 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


239 


in  advance  of  Indian  symbolism ;  while  some  of  their  pictorial 
records  are  as  definite  pieces  of  literal  representation  as  the 
battle    of    the    reindeer    from    the    Dordogne    cave,    or    the 
peaceful   grazing  scene   recovered   from  a  Swiss  grotto  near 
Thayingen.     One  example  of  such  a  pictorial  chronicling  of  an 
important  event  has   been    repeatedly   described,  and    aptly 
illustrates  its  practical    application.     When  Cortez  held  his 
first  interview  with  the  emissaries  of  Montezuma,  one  of  the 
attendants  of  Teuhtlile,  the  chief  Aztec  noble,  was  observed 
sketching  the  novel  visitors,  their  peculiar  costumes  and  arms, 
their  horses  and  ships ;  and  by  such  means  a  report  of  all  that 
pertained  to  the  strange  invaders  of  his  dominion  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  Aztec  sovereign.     The  skill  with  which  every 
object  was  delineated  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Spaniards. 
But  however  superior  this  may  have  been  as  a  piece  of  art,  it 
was  manifestly  no  advanca  on  the  principle  of  Indian  picture- 
writing  ;   nor  can  we  be  in   much  doubt  as  to  its  style  of 
execution,  since  Lord  Kingsborough's  elaborate  work  furnishes 
many  fac-similes  of  nearly  contemporary  Mexican  drawings. 
In  the  majority  of  these,  the  totemic  symbols,  and  the  repre- 
sentations of  individuals  by  means  of  their  animal  or  other 
cognomens,  are  abundantly  apparent.     The  specific  aim  of  the 
artist  has  to  be  kept  in  view.     The  figures  are  for  the  most 
part  grotesque,  from  the  necessity  of  giving  predominance  to 
the  special  feature  in  which  the  symbol  is  embodied.     To  the 
generation    for  which    such    were   produced,  the    connection 
becween  the  sign,  and  the  person  or  thing  signified,  would  be 
manifest;  and  as  a  mnemonic   aid,  supplemented  by  verbal 
descriptions  of  the  trained  official  registrars,  the  record  would 
be  ample.     But  a  brief  interval  suffices  to  render  such  abbre- 
viated   symbols    obscure,   if   not  wholly  unintelligible;    and 
within  less  than  a  century  after  the  Conquest,  De  Alva  could 
not  find  more  than  two  surviving  Mexicans,  both  very  aged, 
who    were    able    to    interpret   the   native    pictorial    records. 
Nevertheless  a  system  of  picture-writing,  originating  among 
the  rude  forest  tribes  with  the  simple  employment  of   the 
imitative  faculty  in  the  representation  of  familiar  objects,  with 
their  associated  ideas,  had  advanced  on  this  continent  to  the 
very  same  stage  from  which,  in  ancient  Egypt,  the  next  step 
was  taken,  resulting  in  the  evolution  of  a  phonetic  alphabet, 


1'.     i*!^ 


340 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


I- 


w  ■■ 


m-\ 


m 


and   so   of  all   that   is   implied   in    letters    in    the    largest 
sense. 

To  this  grand  aim  of  ideography,  or  an  equivalent  of  written 
speech,  may,  as  it  appears  to  me,  be  traced  the  earliest  efforts 
at  drawing  and  painting,  reaching  back  to  that  strange  dawn 
of  intellectual  vigour  revealed  to  us  in  the  graphic  art  of  the 
men  of  Europe's  Palaeolithic  age.     The  same  effort  at  written 
speech  underlies  all  the  manifestations  of  the  artistic  faculty, 
common  alike  to  the  semi-civilised  and  to  the  barbarous  native 
races   of  this  continent ;   and   in   the  terms   by   which  they 
express  the  graphic  art  in  their  various  dialects,  the  common 
significance   of   drawing    and   writing   is    generally  apparent. 
But  the  aesthetic  faculty  was  thus  stimulated  into  activity  with 
results  which  tended  to  develop  art  in  all  its  forms  of  carving, 
modelling,  sculpture,  and  painting.     An  appreciation  of  colour, 
not  merely  for  personal  adornment,  but  in  its  artistic  applica- 
tion— alike  as  a  decorative  art,  and  as  the  means  whereby 
natural  objects  can  be  presented  with  vivid  truthfulness  to  the 
eye, — is  widely  diffused ;  though  the  mastery  of  form  by  the 
modeller  or  sculptor  long  precedes  that  of  chiaroscuro,  or  aerial 
perspective.     Aboriginal  painting  is  crude,  consisting  mainiy  of 
colour  without  tone  or  shading,  even  where  the  drawing  is 
correct.     But  paints  and  dyes,  both  of  mineral  and  vegetable 
origin,  are  largely  in  use  by  many  Indian  tribes.     The  Eskimo 
execute  tasteful  patterns  on  their  skin  robes  in  diverse  colours ; 
and  the  northern  tribes  both  to  the  east  and  west  of  the  Kocky 
Mountains  dye  porcupine  quills  and  grasses,  and  with  them 
work  ornamental  patterns  on  their  dresses  and  in  basket-work. 
The  pottery  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  is  elaborately  decorated  in 
colours ;  and  in  various  other  ways — as  in  the  colouring  of  their 
masks,  and  the  painting  of   their  boats  and  houses,  by  the 
Indians  of  Oregon  and  British  Columbia, — the  native  taste  for 
colour  is  manifested.     Mr.  Hugh  Martin  in  a  communication 
of  an  early  date  to  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  gives 
an  account  of  the  principal  dyes  employed  by  the    Nortli 
American  Indians.^     The  Shawnees  obtained  a  vegetable  red, 
which  they  called  hau-ta-the-caugh,  from  the  root  of  a  marsh 
plant,  and  largely  used  it  iu  dyeing  wool,  porcupine  quills,  and 
the  white  hair  of  deers'  tails.     From  another  root,  the  Badix 
1  Trans.  Amer.  Phil.  Soc.  iii.  222. 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


241 


^iiva,  a  bright  yellow  was  obtained,  by  mixing  which  with  the 
red  an  orange  tint  is  made.  But  they  also  extracted  a  rich 
orange  colour  from  the  Poccon  root.  A  fine  vegetable  blue  is 
also  easily  procured,  and  this  was  transformed  to  green  by 
means  of  a  yellow  liquor  of  the  smooth  hickory  bark.  Black, 
which  is  much  in  demand,  was  obtained  both  from  the  sumack 
and  from  the  bark  of  the  white  walnut.  All  the  colours  thus 
far  named  are  vegetable  dyes,  but  mineral  colours  are  in 
general  use  for  painting,  and  especially  for  personal  decoration, 
which  is  no  doubt  the  primary  idea  associated  in  the  Indian 
mind  with  the  verb  "  to  paint."  The  Lenapes,  Dr.  Brinton 
remarks,  "  obtained  red,  white,  and  blue  clays,  which  were  in 
such  extensive  demand  that  the  vicinity  of  those  streams  in 
Newcastle  County,  Delaware,  which  are  now  called  White 
Clay  Creek  and  Red  Clay  Creek,  are  widely  known  to  the 
natives  as  Walamink,  '  the  place  of  paint.' "  ^  The  Shawnees 
applied  the  name  Alamonee-sepce,  "  Paint  Creek,"  to  the  stream 
which  falls  into  the  Scioto  close  to  Chilicothe.  The  word 
walairien,  signifying  "  to  paint,"  is  the  Shawnee  alamon,  and 
the  Abnaki  tvramann,  the  r  being  substituted  for  the  I. 
Roger  Williams,  describing  the  New  England  Indians,  speaks 
of  "  vmnnam,  their  red  painting,  which  they  most  delight  in, — 
both  the  bark  of  the  pine,  as  also  a  red  earth."  The  word  is 
derived  from  Narr.  wunne,  Del.  vmlit,  Chip,  gwanatseh : 
"beautiful,  handsome,  good,  pretty,"  etc.  "The  Indian  who 
had  bedaubed  his  skin  with  red  ochrecus  clay,  was  esteemed 
in  full  dress,  and  delightful  tx)  look  upon.  Hence  the  term 
mdit,  '  fine,  pretty,'  came  to  be  applied  to  the  paint  itself."  ^ 

A  review  of  the  terms  of  art  in  the  diverse  aboriginal 
vocabularies  would  furnish  an  interesting  supplement  to  the 
general  question  of  the  manifestation  of  an  artistic  faculty,  and 
the  evidences  of  appreciation  of  art  among  savage  races.  I  note 
a  few  illustrations,  which  the  languages  of  some  Northern 
Indian  tribes  supply,  of  the  ideas  associated  in  the  native 
mind  with  terms  of  art.  The  Algonkin  languages  generally 
have  no  distinctive  words  clearly  discriminating  between 
painting,  drawing,  and  writing  in  the  sense  of  ideography ; 
though  the  inevitable  tendency  to  invent  or  appropriate  words, 
as  equivalents  expressive  of  any  novel  object  or  idea,  is  in 

^  The  Lenape  and  their  Legends,  p.  63.  "  Ibid.  {>p.  60, 104. 

B 


rr 


M« 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


.  I' 


operation  in  those  as  in  other  languages.  The  Ojibways  have 
no  generic  term  for  painting  the  body  or  face,  but  express  it 
by  some  word  connected  with  the  specific  colour  in  use.  For 
example,  the  painting  the  face  black,  as  is  done  to  a  youth  on 
attaining  puberty,  is  muhkuhdaekawin.  This  consists  of  muh- 
kuh-da,  meaning  "  black,"  eka,  the  form  which  gives  it  the 
verbal  significance,  "  he  makes  himself  black,"  with  the 
termination  win,  constituting  the  whole  a  noun.  So  misquah, 
"  red,"  is  the  root  of  misquah-ne-ffa-zoo,  "  he  is  painted  red  " ; 
misquah-ne-gah-da,  "  it  is  painted  red."  Oozahwah,  "  yellow," 
gives  oo-zah-vje-ne-gaJi-zoo,  "  he  is  painted  yellow " ;  with  the 
corresponding  terminal  change  for  the  neuter.  But  the  word 
oozahnamahne,  from  oonah,  "  the  cheek,"  is  also  used  for 
painting  the  face  either  red  or  yellow.  Quahnaiy,  or  gwanai, 
the  word  for  "  beautiful,"  is  applied  to  moral  as  well  as  physical 
beauty,  e.g.  gwanaienene  would  be  used  of  a  fair,  honourable 
dealing  man,  as  well  as  of  one  who  was  handsome  or  good- 
looking.  But  such  rhetorical  tropes  are  common  to  many 
languages. 

I  was  indebted  to  the  late  Silas  T.  Eand,  for  upwards  of 
thirty  years  a  missionary  among  the  Micmac  Indians  of  Nova 
Scotia,  for  the  following  illustrative  details :  "  The  Micmac  is 
rich  in  words  relating  to  art,  the  making  and  ornamenting  of 
garments,  moccasin' ,  snow-shoes,  etc.,  of  weapons  and  implements 
for  domestic  use,  making  pottery  and  modelling  in  clay.  For 
building  and  managing  a  canoe  there  are  at  least  seventy-six 
words.  They  have  words  for  carving  on  stone,  and  also  on 
wood,  for  marking  dressed  skins  with  flower  patterns,  for 
carving  flowers  in  stone,  for  scraping  them  on  bircli-bark  dishes, 
for  drawing  a  likeness,  making  models  and  patterns,  and  for 
working  after  them.  When  I  was  engaged  in  translating 
Exodus,  and  largely  dependent  on  my  Indian  teacher  for  the 
words  to  express  all  the  parts  of  the  Tabernacle,  its  coverings 
and  furniture,  mortices,  tenons,  hooks,  fillets,  loops,  bars,  pins, 
sockets,  etc.,  I  fully  expected  to  be  baffled.  What  was  my 
surprise  to  find  that  there  were  words  in  the  language  by  which 
to  express  all  I  needed.  Boards,  bars,  bolts,  pillars,  poles, 
rings,  everything  was  made,  put  together,  and  my  '  pundit,'  an 
excellent  mechanic,  when  he  returned  next  day  to  go  on  with 
our  work,  assured  me  that  he  had  been  dreaming  about  that 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


243 


'  wigwam '  we  had  been  erecting  the  previous  day,  and  he  was 
sure  he  could  make  such  a  one.  He  had  the  pattern  in  his 
head  as  clearly  as  Moses  had  it,  after  he  had  seen  it  up  the 
mountain,"  In  the  Micmac,  aweekuvi  is  "  a  drawing,"  lit. 
"  I  write  it,"  "  I  draw  it "  ;  essu7n,  "  I  colour  it "  ;  elapskudaaga, 
"  I  am  carving,"  or  "  cutting  stone  " ;  elapskudaam,  "  I  am 
carving  it  in  stone  "  ;  apsk,  which  here  denotes  "  stone,"  is  only 
used  in  composition ;  coondow  is  the  word  for  "  stone " ; 
eloksowa,  "  I  am  carving  in  wood  "  ;  noojetoeekuga,  "  a  painter," 
"  drawer,"  "  writer,"  lit.  "  a  maker  of  marks  "  ;  aweegasik,  "  a 
picture,"  lit.  "  it  is  marked  down,"  etc. 

The  Algonkin  root  walam,  "  red,"  is  the  term  employed  in 
the  Walum  Ohtm,  or  "  Red  Score  of  the  Lenape,"  which  was 
brought  under  the  notice  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
in  1848,  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Squier,  as  The  Bark  Record  of  the 
Lenni- Lenape.  His  narrative  has  been  more  than  once  re- 
printed ;  but  the  carefully  edited  version  of  this  curious  Indian 
ideograph  given  by  Dr.  Brinton,  in  his  Lenape  and  their 
Legends,  will  supersede  earlier  and  less  accurate  versions. 
The  full  translation  with  which  the  pictographic  record  of  the 
Walum  Olum  is  accompanied,  abundantly  suffices  to  prove 
that  it  may  be  most  correctly  described  as  a  series  of  mnemonic 
signs  employed  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  in  memory  a 
national  chant,  of  a  class  very  familiar  to  the  students  of 
primitive  history.  The  ballad  epics  of  the  ancient  Germans, 
and  the  still  earlier  lays  of  ancient  Eome,  the  Abanic  Duan, 
and  others  of  the  genealogical  and  historical  poems  of  the 
Celtic  nations,  were  all  of  this  class  ;  and  analogous  traditionary 
chants  have  been  perpetuated  among  the  Maoris  of  New 
Zealand.  Tlie  system  of  pictography  corresponds  to  that  in 
use  among  the  Ojibways  and  other  Algonkin  tribes,  including 
the  totems,  or  sigh  aames  ;  but  it  falls  far  short  of  true  picture- 
writing.  Section  IV.  records  the  conquest  by  the  Lenape  tribe, 
of  the  northern  country,  which  they  call  "  The  Snak(^  Land." 
Bald  Eagle,  Beautiful  Head,  White  Owl,  Keeping  Guard,  Snow 
Bird,  and  a  succession  of  other  chiefs  are  named,  all  of  whom 
are  more  or  less  graphically  indicated  by  their  totems ;  but  a 
paraphrastic  interpretation  accompanies  them  setting  forth  ideas 
that  have  no  pictorial  representation.  Then  comes  a  horizontal 
line  with  ten  oblique  lines  rising  from  it,  and  three  cross-lines 


t.i\ 


't 


't> 


244 


THE  ESTHETIC  FACULTY 


if 


m 


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I. 


>  €\ 


\\'  1' 


below,  with  the  interpretation :  "  After  the  Seizer  there  were 
ten  chiefs  and  there  was  much  warfare  south  and  north."  Next 
follows  another  succession  of  chiefs,  each  symbolised  with  some 
associated  idea.  Thus  a  group  of  six  small  circles,  arranged 
upright  in  two  columns,  is  surmounted  by  a  larger  circle,  with 
three  oblique  lines  rising  from  the  top.  This  is  paraphrased : 
"  After  him,  Corn-Breaker  was  chief,  who  brought  about  the 
planting  of  corn."  It  is  not  ditficult  to  imagine  in  the 
drawing  the  conventional  representation  of  an  ear  of  corn ;  but 
the  major  idea  can  be  no  more  than  one  suggested  to  the 
memory  by  association.  In  some  instances  the  picture-writinj; 
is  more  manifest.  A  horizontal  line  surmounted  by  two  teepees, 
or  buffalo-skin  tents,  is  "  the  buffalo  land."  In  one  group,  a 
semicircle  with  radiating  lines,  placed  on  a  straight  line,  is 
translated :  "  Let  us  go  together  to  the  east,  to  the  sunrise." 
In  another  case,  nearly  the  same  symbol — assumed,  no  doubt, 
to  represent  the  sun  setting  in  the  ocean, — is  rendered,  "  at  the 
great  sea."  It  is,  indeed,  a  system  of  picture-writing ;  but 
instead  of  being  abbreviated  into  word-symbols,  it  is  reduced 
to  mere  catch-words  or  mnemonic  signs.  Their  value  would  be 
unquestionable  as  an  aid  to  memory  in  the  perpetuation  of  a 
mythic  or  historical  poem ;  but,  if  the  tradition  were  lost,  they 
embody  no  sufficient  record  from  which  to  recover  it. 

Neither    the   Iroquois    nor    the  Algonkin   nation   can  be 
pointed  to    ?  specially  gifted  with  imitative  powers,  or  in  other 
ways    furnishing    evidence    of   any  highly  developed  artistic 
faculty.     They  cannot  compare  in  this  respect  with  the  Zuni, 
or  others  of  the  Pueblo  Indians,  among  whom  the  arts  of  long- 
settled,    agricultural    communities    have   been    developed   for 
purposes  of  ornament  as  well  as  utility ;  nor  is  their  inferiority 
less  questionable  when  we  compare  them  with  some  of  the 
barbarous  tribes  of  the  north-west  coast,  and  the  neighbouring 
islands.      Their  languages   confirm    this;    for  while,  as   Mr. 
Gushing  has  shown,  the  Zuni  language  possesses  many  words 
relating  to  art-processes,  the  Iroquois  and  Algonkin  dialects 
supply  such  terms,  for  the  most  part,  in  descriptive  holophrasnis, 
and   not    in   primitive    roots.      Nevertheless,   alike    in   their 
pottery  and  carvings,  and  in  their  picture  writing,  they  show  a 
degree  of  artistic  capacity  of  which  few  traces  are  found  in 
Europe's  Neolithic  age. 


<v 


IN  ABORIGINAL  RACES 


245 


-■'  i1 


In  the  Ojibway,  oozhebegatvin  is  used  indiscrimiuately  for 
"  writing,  drawing,  painting,"  wazheheegad,  for  "  a  man  who 
writes,  draws."  In  combination  with  viuh-ze-ne,  "  figure,  form," 
such  words  are  in  use  as  muhzencheigaioin,  "  a  painting,  draw- 
ing"; viuhzenebedyaxocnene  (M.),  muhzcnebe^gatvequa  {¥.),  "a 
painter,  an  artist "  ;  viuhzenehe^gun,  "  a  picture."  "  To  carve,"  or 
"  engrave  on  a  rock,"  is  muhzeneko ;  muhzenekqjegun,  "  a 
sculptor's  chisel "  ;  muhzenekoda,  "  it  is  carved,"  etc.  Again 
with  wahhegun,  "  clay,"  such  holophrasms  are  obtained  as 
wahbegtmoonahgunekawenene,  "  a  man  who  makes  earthen 
vessels,  a  potter,"  vmhbeguhega,  "  a  worker  in  clay,"  lit.  "  I 
work  with  clay."  ^ 

In  previous   remarks  on  the  main  subject  of  this  paper, 
the  development  of  the   artistic  faculty  has  been  noted  as, 
in   many  cases,  an  exceptional  manifestation  of  intellectual 
activity,  alike  in  ancient  and  modern  barbarous  races.     The 
striking    contrast    between    the    richly    fluent    forms    of  the 
language,  and  the  infantile  condition  of  this  people  in  rela- 
tion to  so  much  else,  including  metallurgy,  and  the  applica- 
tion of  the  arts  generally  to  the  practical  requirements  of  life, 
furnishes    a    no    less    interesting    illustration    of    intellectual 
development  fostered  by  special  influences  in  another  direction. 
The   habitual    practice    of  oratory   made   the   Iroquois  acute 
reasoners ;  and  their  language  abounds  in  abstract  terms  to  a 
degree  altogether  surprising  in  an  uncivilised  race.     The  pur- 
poses of  the  rhetorician  also  encouraged  the  tropical  use  of 
literal  terms.     It  is  not,  therefore,  difficult  to  understand  how 
the  primary  sense  of  the  verb  "  to  track  "  or  "  trace  out "  should 
ultimately  yield  the  meaning  of  "  drawing  "  or  "  sketching,"  and 
80  finally  of  "  painting."     On  the  other  hand,  it  abundantly 
coincides  with  the  instinctive  use  of  the  imitative  faculty  as 
a  means   of  conveying   definite  ideas  to  others,  that  in  the 
Iroquois,  as  in  other  languages,  the  same  terms  are  used  to 
express  the  idea  of  making  a  mark,  drawing,  or  writing.     The 
primitive  hieroglyphics,  from  whence  our  phonetic  alphabets 
bave  come,  were  first  literal  drawings,  and  then  their  abbrevia- 
tions employed  to  express  associated  ideas.     An  ideographic 
purpose  appears  to  underlie  the  earliest  efforts  of  imitative 
art.  . 


..'!■:'" 


*  See  pp.  SOO,  301  for  examples  in  Iroquois. 


VI 


THE  HUKON-IEOQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  EACE 

It  has  already  been  noted  in  treating  of  pre- Aryan  American 
men  that  throughout  the  northern  continent,  from  the  Arctic 
circle  to  the  Mexican  Gulf,  no  trace  has  been  recovered  of  the 
previous  existence  of  anything  that  properly  admits  of  the 
term  "  native  civilisation."  The  rude  arts  of  Europe's  Stone 
ago  belong  to  a  period  lying  far  behind  its  remotest  traditions ; 
unless  we  appeal  to  the  mythic  allusions  of  Hesiod,  or  to  such 
poetic  imaginings  as  the  Prometheus  of  -^schylus.  But  all 
available  evidence  serves  to  show  that  the  condition  of  the  native 
tribes  throughout  the  northern  continent  has  never  advanced 
beyond  the  stage  which  finds  its  aptest  illustration  in  the  arts 
of  their  Stone  period,  including  the  rudimentary  efforts  at 
turning  to  account  their  ample  resources  of  native  copper 
without  the  use  of  fire. 

But  this  uniformity  in  the  condition  of  the  aborigines,  and 
the  consequent  resemblance  in  their  arts,  habits,  and  mode  of 
life,  has  been  the  fruitful  source  of  misleading  assumptions. 
Everywhere  the  European  explorer  met  only  rude  hunting  and 
warring  tribes,  exhibiting  such  slight  variations  in  all  that 
first  attracts  the  eye  of  the  most  observant  traveller,  that  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  their  ethnical  uniformity  was  the  natural 
result.  In  the  systematisings  of  the  ethnologist,  the  American 
type  was  classed  apart  as  at  once  uniform  and  distinctive; 
and,  strange  as  it  may  now  seem,  this  idea  found  nowhere 
such  ready  favour  as  among  those  who  had  the  fullest  access 
to  the  evidence  by  which  its  truth  could  be  tested.  It  was 
the  most  comprehensive  induction  of  the  author  of  Crania 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         247 


Americana,  as  the  frwit  of  his  conscientious  researches  in 
Anjerican  craniology.  The  authors  of  Indiijenom  Races  of  the 
Earth  and  Types  of  Mankind,  no  less  unhesitatingly  affirmed 
that  "identical  characters  pervade  all  the  American  races, 
ancient  and  modern,  over  the  whole  continent,"  ^  In  this  they 
were  sustained  by  the  high  authority  of  Agassiz,  who,  after 
discussing  in  his  Provinces  of  the  Animal  World,  and  their 
relation  to  Types  of  Man,  the  fauna  peculiar  to  the  American 
continent,  and  pointing  out  the  much  greater  uniformity  of  its 
natural  productions,  when  its  twin  continents  ore  compared 
with  those  of  the  eastern  hemisphere,  thus  summed  up  the 
result  of  his  investigations :  "  With  these  facts  before  us,  we 
may  expect  that  there  should  be  no  great  diversity  among  the 
tribes  of  man  inhabiting  this  continent ;  and  indeed  the  most 
extensive  investigation  of  their  peculiarities  has  led  Dr.  Morton 
to  consider  them  as  constituting  but  a  single  race,  from  the 
confines  of  the  Esquimaux  down  to  the  southernmost  extremity 
of  the  continent.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that,  in  accordance  with  the  zoological  character  of 
the  whole  realm,  this  race  is  divided  into  au  infinite  number 
of  small  tribes,  presenting  more  or  less  difference  one  from 
another."  It  was  natural  and  reasonable  that  the  men  of  the 
sixteenth  century  should  believe  in  Calibans,  or  Ev/aipanoma, 
"the  Anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads  do  grow  beneath 
their  shoulders."  America  was  to  them,  in  the  moat  literal 
sense,  another  world ;  and  it  was  easier  for  them  to  think  of 
it  as  peopled  with  such  monstrosities  than  with  human  beings 
like  ourselves.  But  it  is  curious  to  note  in  this  nineteenth 
century  the  lingering  traces  of  the  old  sentiment ;  and  to  see 
men  of  science  still  finding  it  difficult  to  emancipate  themselves 
from  the  idea  that  this  continent  is  so  essentially  another 
world,  that  it  is  inconceivable  to  them  that  the  races  by  whicli 
it  is  peopled  should  bear  any  affixiity  to  themselves  or  to  others 
of  the  Old  World.  American  ethnologists  long  clung  to  the 
idea  of  an  essentially  distinct  indigenous  race ;  and  Dr.  Nott, 
Dr.  Meigs,  and  other  investigators  welcomed  every  confirma- 
tion of  the  view  of  Dr.  Morton  as  to  the  occupation  of  the 
whole  American  continent  by  one  peculiar  type  from  which 
alone   the   Eskimo  were   to    be  excepted,  as   an  immigrant 

*  Types  of  Afankiiul,  p.  ?,91. 


■■''si 


348 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :   A  TYPICAL  RACE 


w 


'it. 


element,  possibly — according  to  the  ingenious  speculations  of 
one  distinguished  student  of  science, — of  remotest  European 
antiquity.  Professor  Huxley  in  an  address  to  the  Ethnological 
Society  in  1869,  suggests  hypothetically,  that  the  old  Mexican 
and  South  American  races  represent  the  true  American  stock ; 
and  that  the  Eed  Indians  of  North  America  may  be  the  pro- 
duct of  an  intermixture  of  the  indigenous  native  race  with  the 
Eskimo.  It  is  noticeable,  at  any  rate,  that  nearly  all  writers, 
however  widely  differing  on  other  points,  follow  Humboldt  in 
classing  the  Eskimo  apart  as  a  distinct  type.  He  remarks  in 
his  preface  to  his  American  Researches,  that,  "except  those 
which  border  the  polar  circle,  the  nations  of  America  form  a 
single  race  characterised  by  the  formation  of  the  skull,  the 
colour  of  the  skin,  the  extreme  thinness  of  the  beard,  and  the 
straight  glossy  hair."  Some  of  the  characteristics  thus  noted 
are  undoubtedly  widely  prevalent;  but  the  head -form,  or 
"  formation  of  the  skull,"  is  the  most  important ;  and  a  careful 
comparison  of  the  skulls  of  different  tribes  has  long  since 
modified  the  opinion,  expressed  by  the  great  traveller  and 
reasserted  by  distinguished  American  ethnologists. 

In  reality,  were  the  typical  feature  most  insisted  on  as 
universal  as  it  was  assumed  to  be,  it  would  furnish  the 
strongest  argument  for  classifying  the  predominant  Asiatic  and 
American  types  as  one.  All  the  points  appealed  to  suggest 
affinity  to  the  Asiatic  Mongol,  But  so  far  from  the  Eskimo 
standing  apart  as  a  markedly  exceptional  type,  if  due  allow- 
ance be  made  for  the  prolonged  influence  of  an  Arctic  climate, 
the  Huron-Iroquois  approximate  to  them  in  some  very  notable 
ethnical  features.  The  dolichocephalic  head-form,  especially, 
is  common  to  them,  and  to  the  Algonkin  and  other  Northern 
Indians.  Of  those  Dr.  Latham  remarks:  "The  Iroquois  and 
Algonkins  exhibit  in  the  most  typical  form  the  characteristics 
of  the  North  American  Indians  as  exhibited  in  the  earliest 
descriptions,  and  are  the  two  families  upon  which  the  current 
notions  respecting  the  physiognomy,  habits,  and  moral  and 
intellectual  powers  of  the  so-called  Red  Race  are  chiefly 
founded."  Of  the  former,  Mr.  Parkman,  who  has  studied 
their  later  history  with  the  minutest  care,  says :  "  In  this 
remarkable  family  of  tribes  occur  the  fullest  developments  of 
Indian  character,  and  the  most  conspicuous  examples  of  Indian 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A   TYPICAL  RACE         249 

intelligence.  If  the  higher  traits  popularly  ascribed  to  the 
race  are  not  to  be  found  here,  they  are  to  be  found  nowhere."  * 
To  this  typical  American  race,  accordingly,  and  to  some  of  its 
peculiarly  distinctive  usages,  special  attention  is  here  directed. 


■^i 


The  Iroquois  were  an  important  branch  of  the  great  stock 
which  included  also  the  Hurons,  or  Wyandots,  the  native 
historical  race  of  Canada.  But  divided  as  the  two  were 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  French  Canadian  history  by 
the  bitterest  antagonism,  it  is  convenient  to  speak  of  them 
under  the  term  of  Huron-Iroquois.  In  reviewing  the  history 
of  this  indigenous  stock,  with  the  suggestions  prompted  by 
their  peculiar  characteristics,  it  is  desirable  not  only  to  note 
the  physical  geography  of  the  country  which  they  occupied, 
as  a  region  of  forest  and  lakes,  but,  still  more,  to  keep  in  view 
this  fact  as  a  predominant  characteristic  of  the  continent,  and 
as  one  important  factor  in  the  evolution  of  whatever  may  seem 
to  be  peculiar  in  the  forest  tribes  of  North  America. 

The  effects  resulting  from  the  physical  features  of  a  country 
on  the  development  and  intermingling  of  its  races  can  nowhere 
be  wisely  overlooked.  Even  within  the  limits  of  the  British 
Islands  the  influences  of  mountain  and  lowlands  :  of  the  fertile 
stretches  of  Kent  and  the  valley  of  the  Thames,  the  fens  of 
Lincolnshire,  the  moorlands  of  Northumbria,  and  the  Welsh 
and  Scottish  Highlands,  have  largely  contributed  to  the  per- 
petuo^^ion,  if  not  in  some  degree  to  the  development,  of  ethnical 
distinctions  and  the  diversities  in  language. 

In  this  resp  Jt  Britain  is  an  epitome  of  Europe,  with  its 
giiat  mountain  ranges  and  detached  peninsulas,  by  means  of 
whi'  '^  races  have  been  isolated  within  well-defined  areas,  and 
theii  'anguages  and  other  distinctive  peculiarities  preserved. 
Russii  done,  of  all  European  countries,  presents  analogies  to 
Northern  Asia  as  a  region  favourable  to  nomadic  life ;  and  in 
so  far  as  its  history  differs  from  that  of  the  continent  at  large, 
it  accords  with  such  physical  conditions.  Throughout  the 
whole  historic  period,  as  doubtless  in  prehistoric  times,  the 
great  chain  of  mountains  reaching  from  the  western  spur  of 
the  Pyrenees  to  the  Balkans  has  influenced  European  progress ; 
while  the  chief  navigable  river,  the  Danube,  traversing  the 
*  Th*  Jesuits  in  North  America,  p.  43. 


m^^ 


250  TJIE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

continent  through   one  uniform   temperate   zone,  has  tended 
still  further  to  the  perpetuation  of  certain  distinctive  ethnical 
characteristics  in  Central  Europe.     In  all  its  most  important 
geographical    features,    the    northern    continent    of    America 
presents  a   striking   contrast  to  this.     An   isosceles   triangle 
with  its  base  within  the  Arctic  circle,  it  tapers  to  a  narrow 
isthmus  towards  the  equator.     Its  great  mountain  chain  runs 
from   north  to  south,  and  in  near   proximity  to   the  Pacific 
coast ;  and  its  chief  navigable  river,  rising  within  the  Canadian 
Dominion,  and  receiving  as  its  tributaries  rivers  draining  vast 
regions  on  either  hand,  traverses  twenty  degrees  of  latitude 
before  it  reaches  the   Gulf   of  Mexico.      A  lower  range  of 
highlands    towards    the  Atlantic  seaboard  forms  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  great  interior  plain.     But  the  Alleghanies  or 
Appalachian  system  of  mountains,  though  they  may  be  said 
to  extend  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mexican  Gulf,  rise 
only  at  a  few  points,  as  in  the  Wliite  Mountains  of  New 
Hampshire,  to  any  great  elevation.     They  form  rather  a  long 
plateau,  intersected  by  wide  valleys,  diversifying  the  landscape, 
.vithout  constituting  strongly  defined  barriers  or  lines  of  de- 
marcation.    As    a   whole,  the    continent   of   North  America, 
eastward  from  the  Kocky  Mountains,  may  be  described  as  a 
level    area,   so    slightly    modified    by    any    elevated    regions 
throughout  its  whole   extent,  from   the  Arctic  circle  to   the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  to  present  no  other  impediment  except 
its  forests  to  the  wanderings  of  nomadic  tribes.     It  is  inter- 
laced with  rivers,  and  diversified  everywhere  with  lakes,  alike 
available   for  navigation  and  for  fishing ;  and,  until  the  in- 
trusion of  European  immigrants,  its  forests  and  prairies  abounded 
with  game  far  in  excess  of  the  wants  of  its  population.     Every- 
thing thus  tended  to  perpetuate  the  condition  of  nomadic  hunter 
tribes.     This  stage  of  native  American  history  inevitably  drew 
to  a  close  under  the  influence  of  European  institutions  and 
civilisation  ;  but  it  is  interesting  to  note,  that  the  same  absence 
of  any  well-defined  geographical   limitations  of  area,  which 
tended  to  perpetuate  the  nomadic  habits  of  the  savage,  has 
aided  in   consolidating  the  great   confederacy  of  the  United 
States,  and  maintaining  an  ethnical  and  political  conformity 
throughout  the  northern  continent  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
diversities  in  race  and  political  institutions  in  Europe. 


KiKiiM'fr; 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:   A  TOPICAL  RACE         251 

History  and  native  traditions  alike  confirm  the  idea  that 
the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  the  habitat  of  the  Huron- 
Iroquois  stock  as  far  back  as  evidence  can  be  appealed  to. 
The  Huron  traditions  tell  of  a  time  when  the  Province  of 
Quebec  was  the  home  of  the  race  eastward  to  the  sea ;  while 
those  of  three  at  least  of  the  members  of  the  Iroquois  con- 
federacy in  legendary  fashion  claimed  their  birth  from  the  soil 
south  of  the  great  river.  When  the  French  explorers,  under 
the  leadership  of  Jacques  Cartier,  first  entered  the  St.  Lawrence, 
in  1535,  they  found  at  Stadacone  and  Hochelaga — the  old 
native  sites  now  occupied  by  the  cities  of  Quebec  and  Montreal, 
— a  population  apparently  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  stock ;  and, 
in  so  far  as  reliance  may  be  placed  on  their  traditions,  Canada 
was  then  populous  throughout  the  whole  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  with  industrious  native  tribes,  the  representatives  of 
a  race  that  had  occupied  the  same  region  for  unnumbered 
centuries.  "  Some  fanciful  tales  of  a  supernatural  origin  from 
the  heart  of  a  mountain ;  of  a  migration  to  the  eastern  sea- 
board ;  and  of  a  subsequent  return  to  the  country  of  the  lakes 
and  rivers,  where  they  finally  settled,  comprise,"  says  Brownell,^ 
"most  that  is  noticeable  in  the  native  traditions  of  the  Six 
Nations  prior  to  the  grand  confederation."  But  the  value  of 
such  traditionary  transmission  of  national  history  among  un- 
lettered tribes  has  received  repeated  confirmation ;  and  incidents 
in  the  history  of  their  famous  league,  perpetuated  with  circum- 
stantial minuteness  in  the  traditions  of  the  Iroquois,  are 
assignable  apparently  to  the  fifteenth  century.  The  older 
event  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Ailig<5wi,  in  the  Ohio  valley, 
of  which  independent  traditional  records  have  been  handed 
down  by  the  Lenni-Lenape,  or  Delawares,  and  by  the  Iroquois, 
is  now  believed  to  be  correctly  assignable  to  a  date  nearly 
contemporaneous  with  the  assumption  of  the  authority  of 
Bretwalda  of  the  Heptarchy  by  Egbert  of  Wessex, — that 
memorable  step  in  the  fusion  of  "  nations "  not  greatly  more 
important  than  those  of  the  Iroquois  league,  until  their 
divisions  in  speech  and  polity  were  effaced  in  the  unity  of 
the  English  people.  As  to  "  the  fanciful  tale  of  a  supernatural 
origin  from  the  heart  of  a  mountain,"  it  is  simply  a  literal 
rendering  of  the  old  Greek  metaphor  of  the  autochthones,  or 

^  The  Indian  Eaces  of  North  and  South  America,  p.  286. 


m 


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7W^  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


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children  of  the  soil,  symbolised  by  the  Athenians  wearing  the 
grasshopper  in  their  hair ;  and  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to  the 
Iroquois.  Mr.  Horatio  Hale  derived  from  Manderong,  an  old 
"Wyandot  chief,  the  story,  as  narrated  to  him  by  the  Hurons 
of  Lorette.  They  took  him,  he  said,  to  a  mountain,  and 
showed  him  the  opening  in  its  side  from  whence  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  people  emerged,  when  they  "  first  came  out  of 
the  ground."  ^  The  late  Huron  chief,  Tahourenche,  or  Francois 
Xavier  Picard,  communicated  to  me  the  same  legendary  tra- 
dition of  the  indigenous  origin  of  his  people  ;  telling  me, 
though  with  a  smile,  that  they  came  out  of  the  side  of  a 
mountain  between  Quebec  and  the  great  sea.  He  connected 
this  with  other  incidents,  all  pointing  to  a  traditional  belief 
that  the  northern  shores  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  were  the 
original  home  of  the  race ;  and  he  spoke  of  certain  ancient 
events  in  the  history  of  his  people  as  having  occurred  when 
they  lived  beside  the  big  sea.  The  earliest  authentic  reference 
to  this  tradition  occurs  in  the  Relations  for  1636,  where 
Brebeuf,  after  a  brief  allusion  to  certain  of  their  magical  songs 
and  dances,  says  :  "  The  origin  of  all  such  mysteries  is  assigned 
by  them  to  a  being  of  superhuman  stature,  who  was  wounded 
in  the  forehead  by  one  ''*  their  nation,  at  the  time  when  they 
lived  near  the  sea."  The  references  to  a  migration  from  the 
seaboard  obviously  point  to  one  of  those  incidents  in  the  life 
of  the  nation  which  marked  for  them  an  epoch  like  the  Hegira 
of  the  Arabs.  When  Champlain  followed  Cartier  nearly 
seventy  years  later  he  found  only  a  few  Algonkins  in  their 
birch-bark  wigwams,  where  the  palisaded  towns  of  the  Huron- 
Iroquois  had  stood.  But  no  Algonkin  legend  claims  this  as 
their  early  home.  The  invariable  tradition  of  the  Ojibways 
points  to  the  Lake  Superior  region  and  the  country  stretching 
towards  Hudson  Bay  as  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Algonkin 
tribes. 

Such  information  as  can  thus  be  gleaned  from  a  variety  of 
independent  sources,  as  from  the  somewhat  confused  yet  trust- 
worthy narrative  of  David  Cusick,  the  Tuscarora  historian,  and 
from  Peter  Dopyentate,  the  Wyandot  historian,  all  leads  to  the 
same  conclusion.  From  remote  and  altogether  pre-Columbian 
centuries,  the  Hurons  and  other  allied  tribes — the  occupants 

*  Magazine  of  American  History,  vol.  x.  p.  479. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE  253 


in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  of  various  detached 
portions  of  the  country  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  eastward 
of  the  Georj^'ian  Bay, — appear  to  have  been  in  possession  of 
the  whole  region  to  which  their  oldest  traditions  pointed  as  the 
cradle  of  the  race;  while  nations  of  the  Algonkin  stock  lay 
beyond   them   to  the   north-west.     The  great  river  and  the 
lakes  from  whence  it  flows  into  the  lower  valley  formed  a 
well-defined  southern  boundary  for  affiliated  tribes ;  but  the 
first  Dutch  and  English  explorers  of  the  Hudson,  and  of  the 
tract  of  country  which  now  constitutes  the  western  part  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  found  the  river  valleys  and  lake  shores  in 
occupation    of   the   Iroquois   confederacy,   then  consisting   of 
Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas  and  Senecas.     These 
constituted  the   five   nations   of  the  famous  Iroquois  league. 
But  the  Hurons  of  Canada,  with  whom  they  were  latterly  at 
deadly  feud,  appear  to  have  been  the  oldest  representatives  of 
the  common  race,  and  were  still  in  occupation  of  their  ancestral 
home  when  Cartier  first  explored  the  St,  Lawrence.     The  same 
race  had  spread  far  to  the  south ;  and  its  representatives,  in 
detached  groups,  long  continued  to  perpetuate  its  influence. 
These  included  the  Conestogas  or  Andastes,  the  Andastogues, 
the  Carantouans,  the  Gherohakahs  or  Nottoways,  the  Tusca- 
roras,  and  6thers,  under  various  names.     It  is  not  always  easy 
to  recognise  the  same  tribe  under  its  widely  dissimilar  desig- 
nations.    The  Susquehannocks  of  the  English  and  the  Minquas 
of  the  Dutch,  appear  to  be  the  Andastes  under  other  designa- 
tions, and  Ghamplain's  Garantouans  may  have  been  the  Eries. 
Under   those    and    other   names    the    Huron -Iroquois    stock 
extended  to  the  country  of  the  Tuscaroras  in  North  Garolina. 
Still  farther  south  Gallatin  surmised,  from  linguistic  evidence, 
a  connection  between  the  Cherokees  and  the  Iroquois.^     This 
fact  Mr.  Hale  has  placed  beyond  doubt ;  and  having  detected 
in  the  language  of  the  former  a  grammatical  structure  mainly 
Huron -Iroquois,  while  the  vocabulary  is  to  a  great   extent 
foreign,  he  is  inclined  to  think  that  we  thus  recover  traces  of 
a  people,  far  south  in  Alabama  and  Georgia,  the  descendants 
of  refugees  of  the  conquered  AUig^wi,  adopted  into  one  of  the 
nations  of  their  Iroquois  conquerors.'^ 

Fr  )m  one  after  another  of  the  outlying  southern  offshoots 
^  ArchcBologia  Americana,  voL  ii.  p.  173.  '  Indian  Migraiiom,  p.  17. 


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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


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of  the  common  stock,  additions  were  made  from  time  to  time, 
to  restore  the  numbers  of  the  decimated  Iroquois.  Westward 
of  the  confederacy  was  the  country  of  the  Eries,  an  offshoot  of 
the  Seneca  nation,  occupying  the  southern  shore  of  the  great 
lake  which  perpetuates  their  name.  Immediately  to  the  north 
of  the  Eries,  within  the  Canadian  frontier,  the  Attiwendaronks, 
or  Neuters,  occupied  the  peninsula  of  Niagara,  while  the  Tion- 
tates  or  Petuns,  and  other  tribes  of  the  same  stock,  were  settled 
in  the  fertile  region  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron.  In  1714, 
the  Tuscaroras,  when  driven  by  the  English  out  of  North 
Carolina,  were  welcomed  by  their  Iroquois  kinsmen,  and  re- 
ceived into  the  league  which  thenceforth  bore  the  name  of  the 
Six  Nations.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  same  century  the 
waste  of  war  made  them  ready  to  welcome  any  additions  to 
their  numbers ;  and  the  Tuteloes  and  Nanticokes,  both  ap- 
parently Algonkin,  furnished  fresh  accessions  to  the  diminished 
numbers  of  the  confederacy,  but  without  taking  their  place  as 
distinct  nations. 

But  of  all  the  nations  of  the  stock  thus  widely  spread  west- 
ward and  southward,  the  Hurons  are  the  native  historical  race 
of  Canada,  intimately  identified  with  incidents  of  its  early 
settlement  and  of  friendly  intercourse  with  La  NoiivelU  France. 
Their  language  is  now  recognised  as  the  oldest  form  of  the 
common  speech  of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  and  it  is  not  creditable 
to  Canadian  philologists  that  its  grammar  still  remains  un- 
represented in  any  accurate  printed  form.  The  Literary  and 
Historical  Society  of  Quebec  did,  indeed,  publish  in  its  Tran- 
sactions,  in  1831,  the  translation  of  a  Latin  MS.,  compiled 
with  much  industry  by  a  missionary  who  had  laboured  among 
the  Hurons  of  Lorette,  and  whose  anonymous  work  was  found 
amongst  the  papers  of  the  mission.  But  it  is  the  production 
of  one  ignorant  of  the  science  of  language,  and  gives  no 
adequate  idea  either  of  the  grammatical  structure  or  of  the 
variety  and  richness  of  the  Huron  tongue. 

The  languages  or  dialects  spoken  by  many  native  Indian 
tribes  have  undoubtedly  perished  with  the  races  to  which  they 
pertained ;  but  the  numerous  Huron-Iroquois  dialects  still 
existing,  not  only  in  written  form,  but  as  living  tongues, 
afford  valuable  materials  for  ethnical  study.  The  history  of 
other  Indian  tribes  abundantly  accoimts  for  the  multiplication 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         255 


of  a  minute  diversity  of  languages  so  specially  characteristic 
of  the  American  continent,  with  the  endless  subdivisions  of 
its  indigenous  population  into  petty  tribes,  kept  apart  by 
internecine  feuds.  The  number  of  native  American  languages 
is  estimated  by  Vater,  in  his  Zinguarum  Totius  Orhis  Index,  at 
about  five  hundred.  But  the  question  forthwith  arises  :  What 
shall  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  language  ?  For,  in  the 
wanderings  of  little  bands  of  Indian  nomads,  and  the  adoption 
of  refugees  from  disbanded  tribes,  dialects  multiply  inde- 
finitely. Nearly  six  hundred  of  such  are  catalogued  by  Mr. 
Bancroft,  in  his  Native  Baces  of  the  Facijic  States,  as  spoken 
between  Alaska  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

Until  recently  the  tendency  has  been  to  assume  an  under- 
lying unity  of  speech  for  the  whole  American  languages, 
based  on  the  polysynthetic  or  holophrastic  characteristic 
ascribed  to  the  whole  ;  just  as  by  an  exaggerated  estimate  of 
the  prevalenci^  of  a  predominant  head-form,  one  physical  type 
was  long  assumed  to  characterise  the  American  race  from 
Hudson  Bay  to  Tierra  del  Fuego.  Perhaps,  so  far  as  language 
is  concerned,  the  present  tendency  is  towards  the  opposite 
extreme.  Major  Powell,  the  chief  of  the  Ethnographical 
Bureau  at  Washington,  recognises  eighty  groups  of  languages 
in  North  America,  between  which  no  affinity  is  thus  far  ap- 
parent. Fifty-five  of  those  he  believes  to  be  satisfactorily 
determined  as  distinct  stocks.  On  the  other  hand,  Professor 
Whitney,  after  noticing  the  complexity  of  the  inquiry  when 
directed  to  the  native  American  languages,  thus  proceeds : 
"  Yet  it  is  the  confident  opinion  of  linguistic  scholars  that  a 
fundamental  unity  lies  at  the  base  of  all  these  infinitely  vary- 
ing forms  of  speech  ;  that  they  may  be,  and  probably  are,  all 
descended  from  a  single  parent  language."  ^ 

Here  then  is  a  field  for  much  useful  research,  with  the 
promise  of  valuable  results.  The  subject  is  rendered  more 
important  owing  to  the  fact  that,  of  nearly  all  the  nations  of 
the  North  American  continent,  their  languages  are  the  only 
surviving  memorials  of  the  race.  Already,  under  the  efficient 
supervision  of  the  Ethnographic  Bureau  of  the  United  States, 
systematic  contributions  are  being  secured  for  this  important 
branch  of  knowledge,  so  far  as  their  own  geographical  area  is 
^  Whitney's  Study  of  Language,  p.  348. 


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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


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concerned.  A  no  less  important  area  is  embraced  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  and  the  attention  of  the  (loveiiiment  is 
now  directed  to  the  necessity  for  timely  action  in  this  matter. 
In  the  North- West,  and  in  British  Columbia,  lanj^uages  arc 
disappearing  and  races  becoming  extinct.  Mr.  Hale  has 
contributed  to  the  American  Philos(i()hical  Society's  Transac- 
tions a  valuable  monogram  on  the  Tutelo  tribe  and  language, 
derived  mainly  from  Nikonha,  the  last  full-blood  Tutelo,  who 
survived  till  upwards  of  a  hundred  years  of  age.  He  was 
married  to  a  Cayuga  woman,  and  lived  among  her  people  on 
their  Grand  river  reserve.  "  My  only  knowledge  of  tho 
Tuteloes,"  says  Mr.  Hale,  "  had  been  derived  from  the  few 
notices  comprised  in  Gallatin's  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes, 
where  they  are  classed  with  the  nations  of  the  Huron-1  roquois 
stock.  At  the  same  time  the  distinguished  anhur,  witli  the 
scientific  caution  which  marked  all  his  writings,  is  careful  to 
mention  that  no  vocabulary  of  the  language  was  known. 
That  which  was  v  obtained  showed,  beyond  nuestion,  that 
the  language  was  totally  distinct  from  the  Huron-Iroquois 
tongues,  and  that  it  was  closely  allied  to  the  language  of  the 
Dakota  family."  ^  But  for  the  timely  exertion  of  a  philo- 
logical student,  this  interesting  link  in  tla  history  of  the 
Huron-Iroquois  relations  with  affiliated  tribes  woidd  have 
been  lost  beyond  recall. 

The  history  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  race,  and  especially  of 
the  Six  Nation  Indians,  since  the  settlement  of  the  main 
body  for  the  past  century  on  their  reserves  on  the  Grand 
river,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  curiously  illustrates  the 
pertinacity  with  which  they  have  cherished  the  dialectic 
varieties  of  a  common  tongue.  But  while  the  essential 
differences  of  language  everywhere  constitute  one  of  the  most 
obvious  distinctions  of  race,  it  is  interestin<f  to  note  the 
recognition  by  the  Indians  of  affinities  of  dialects,  and  even 
remote  kinship  based  on  such  evidence ;  as  in  the  readmission 
of  the  Tuscaroras  to  the  Iroquois  family  of  nations.  Ac- 
cording to  Brebeuf,  the  kinship  of  the  Attiwendaronks  of  the 
Niagara  peninsula  was  recognised  by  the  Hurons  in  that 
designation  \/hich  classed  them  as  a  "people  of  a  language 
a  little  different."  ^     Peter  Jones  Kahkewaquonaby,  a  civilised 

^  The  Tutelo  Tribe  and  Language,  p.  9.  ^  lielcUion,  1641,  p.  72. 


THE  HURON-IRCOUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         257 


Ojibwtty,  adopted  into  the  Mohawk  nation,  in  speaking  of 
the  traditions  of  tlie  Indians  as  to  their  own  origin,  says  : 
"  All  the  iui'unnation  I  have  been  able  to  gain  in  relation 
to  the  question  amounts  to  the  following.  Many,  many 
winters  ago  the  Great  Spirit,  Keche-Manedoo,  created  the 
Indians.  E  nry  nation  speakiiij:^  a  differi  nt  language  is  a 
second  cri  iiion,  but  all  were  made  by  the  same  Supreme 
Being."  1 

Among  the  races  of  the  northern  continent,  none  east  of 
the  Kocky  Mountains  more  fitly  represent  their  special 
characteristics  than  the  great  Huron-Iroquois  family.  Their 
language  is  remarkable  for  its  compass  and  elaborate  gram- 
matical structure  ;  and  the  immerous  dialects  of  the 
common  mother  tongue  furnish  evidence  of  migration  and 
conquest  over  a  wide  region  eastward  of  the  Mississippi. 
To  such  philological  evidence  many  inquirers  are  now 
turning  for  a  clue  to  the  origin  of  the  races  of  the  New 
World,  and  for  the  recovery  of  proofs  of  their  affinity  to  one 
or  other  of  the  Old  World  stocks.  Professor  Whitney,  after 
dwelling  on  the  "  exaggeratedly  agglutinative  type  "  of  the 
ancient  Iberian  language,  and  its  isolation  among  the  essen- 
tially dissimilar  languages  of  Aryan  J'urope,  thus  proceeds  : 
"  The  Basque  forms  a  suitable  Hteppiu;4-stone  from  which  to 
enter  the  peculiar  linguistic  domain  of  the  New  World,  since 
there  is  no  other  dialect  of  the  Old  World  which  so  much 
resembles  in  structure  the  American  languages  "  ^ ;  not  indeed, 
as  he  adds,  that  they  are  all  of  accordant  form  ;  for  he 
pronounces  the  grouping  of  them  in  a  single  great  family  is 
"a  classification  of  ignorance."  The  possibilities  of  ancient 
communication  between  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  migration  of  colonists  of  the  New  World  from  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  have  already  been  discussed  in  dealing 
with  the  legend  of  the  Lost  Atlantis.  Great  indeed  as  is  the 
interval  of  time  therein  implied,  it  would  not  suffice  to  erase 
all  traces  of  affinity  of  languages.  But  it  would  be  vain  to 
hope  for  any  historical  guidance  recoverable  from  the  oldest 
of  Iroquois  legends.  If,  moreover,  Iberian,  Hittite,  Egyptian, 
Phoenician,  or  other  of  the  world's  gray  fathers,  transplanted 

*  PtUr  Jones  and  the  Ojihway  Jndiaiis,  p.  31. 

'  The  Life  and  Growth  of  Languages,  p.  259. 

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to  America  the  germs  of  its  long  indigenous  stock,  we  look  in 
vain  for  any  traces  of  their  Old  World  civilisation  north  of  the 
Mexican  Gulf.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  an  established  truth 
that  the  arts  of  Central  America  or  Peru  are  of  any  very 
great  antiquity.  Their  metalliir<ry  was  at  a  crude,  yet  sug- 
gestive, stage  at  which  it  was  not  likely  to  be  long  arrested. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  their  hieroglyphic  records ;  though 
they  certainly  present  some  highly  significant  analogies  to  the 
Chinese  phase  of  word-writing,  calculated,  along  with  other 
aspects  of  resemblance  to  that  stage  of  partial,  yet  long- 
enduring,  civilisation  of  which  China  is  the  Asiatic  exemplar, 
to  modify  our  estimate  of  the  possible  duration  of  Central 
and  Southern  American  civilisation.  Nevertheless  the  as- 
sumption of  an  antiquity  in  any  degree  approximating  to  that 
of  Egypt  seems  wholly  irreconcilable  with  the  evidence. 
Their  architecture  was  barbaric,  though  imposing  from  the 
scale  on  which  their  great  temples  and  palaces  were  built. 
In  Central  America  especially,  the  aggregation  of  numerous 
ill -lighted  little  chambers,  like  honey -comb  cells  excavated 
out  of  the  huge  pile,  is  strongly  suggestive  of  affinity  to 
the  Casas  Grandes,  and  the  Pueblos  of  the  Zufti ;  and  this  is 
confirmed  by  the  correspondence  traceable  between  many  of 
their  architectural  details  and  the  ornamentation  of  the 
Pueblo  pottery. 

The  astronomy  and  the  calendars,  both  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  with  their  detailed  methods  of  recording  their  divisions 
of  time,  are  all  suggestive  of  an  immature  phase  of  civilisa- 
tion in  the  very  stage  of  its  emergence  from  barbarism, 
modified,  in  some  cases,  by  the  recent  acquisition  of  certain 
arts.  As  to  the  peculiar  phase  of  Mexican  art,  and  whatever 
other  evidence  of  progress  Mexico  supplies,  they  appear  to  me 
no  more  than  natural  products  of  the  first  successful  intrusion 
of  the  barbarians  of  the  northern  continent  on  the  seats  of 
tropical  civilisation.  Certain  it  seems,  at  least,  that  if  an 
earlier  civilisation  had  ever  existed  in  the  north,  or  if  the 
representatives  of  any  Old  World  type  were  present  there  in 
numbers  for  any  length  of  time,  some  traces  of  their  lost  arts 
must  long  since  have  come  to  light. 

But  the  conservative  power  of  language  is  indisputable; 
and  if  the  kinship  now  claimed  for  the  polysynthetic  languages 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         259 

of  both  hemispheres  be  correct,  we  are  on  the  threshold  of 
significant  disclosures.  The  Huron -Iroquois  tongue,  in  its 
numerous  ramifications,  as  well  as  some  of  the  native  lan- 
guages that  have  outlived  the  last  of  the  races  to  which 
they  belonged,  may  preserve  traces  of  affinities  ns  yet  un- 
recognised. But  in  no  respect  are  the  Huron-Iroquois  more 
correctly  adducible  as  a  typical  race  of  American  aborigines 
than  in  the  absence  of  all  evidence  of  their  ever  having 
acquired  any  of  the  arts  upon  which  civilisation  depends. 
We  look  in  vain  in  their  vocabularies  for  terms  of  science, 
or  for  names  adapted  to  the  arts  and  manufactures  on  which 
social  progress  depends.  But  they  had  developed  a  gift  of 
oratory,  for  which  their  language  amply  sufficed,  and  from  which 
we  may  infer  the  presence  in  this  race  of  sava^tis  of  latent 
powers,  capable  of  wondrous  development.  "Their  languages 
show,  in  their  elaborate  mechanism,  as  well  as  in  their  fulness 
of  expression  and  grasp  of  thought,  the  evidence  of  the 
mental  capacity  of  those  who  speak  them.  Scholars  who 
admire  the  inflections  of  the  Greek  and  Sanscrit  verb,  with 
their  expressive  force  and  clearness,  will  not  be  less  impressed 
with  the  ingenious  structure  of  the  verb  in  Iroquois.  It 
comprises  nine  tenses,  three  moods,  the  active  and  passive 
voices,  and  at  least ,  twenty  oi  those  forms  which  in  the 
Semitic  grammars  are  styled  conjugations.  The  very  names 
of  these  forms  will  suffice  to  give  evidence  of  the  care  and 
minuteness  with  which  the  franiers  of  this  remarkable  lan- 
guage have  endeavoured  to  express  every  shade  of  meaning. 
We  have  the  diminutive  and  augmentative  forms,  the  cis- 
locative  and  trans-locative,  the  duplicative,  reiterative,  motional, 
causative,  progressive,  attributive,  frequentative,  and  many 
others."  ^  To  speak,  indeed,  of  the  Iroquois  as,  in  a  con- 
sciously active  sense,  the  franiers  of  all  this  would  be  mis- 
leading. But  it  unquestionably  grew  up  in  the  deliberations 
around  the  council  fire,  where  the  conflicting  aims  of  confed- 
erate tribes  were  swayed  by  the  eloquence  of  some  command- 
ing orator,  until  the  fiercest  warrior  of  this  forest  race  learned 
to  value  more  the  successful  wielding  of  the  tongue  in  the 
Kanonsionni,  or  figurative  Long  House  of  the  League,  even 
than  the  wielding  of  the  tomahawk  in  the  field.  At  the 
^  Hale's  Indian  Migrations  as  evidenced  by  Language,  p.  3. 


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260  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

organisation  of  the  confederacy,  the  Canyengas  or  Mohawks 
were  figuratively  said  to  have  "  built  a  house,"  rodinonsonnih, 
or  rather  to  have  "  built  the  long  house  "  in  which  the  council 
fire  of  the  Five  Nations  vAas  kindled.  Of  tliis  the  Senecas, 
lying  on  the  extreme  west,  were  styled  the  "door-keepers," 
and  the  Onondagas,  whose  territory  was  central,  were  the 
custodians.  The  whole  usage  is  rhetorical  and  figurative. 
Under  such  influences  the  language  of  the  Huron- Iroquois 
was  framed,  and  it  grew  rich  in  emotional  and  persuasive 
forms.  It  only  needed  the  evolution  of  a  true  alphabet  out 
of  the  pictorial  symbolism  on  their  painted  robes,  or  the 
grave-posts  of  their  chiefs,  to  inaugurate  a  literature  which 
should  embody  the  orations  of  the  Iroquois  Demosthenes, 
and  the  songb  of  a  native  Homer,  for  whom  a  vehicle  of 
thought  was  already  prepared,  rich  and  flexible  as  poet  could 
desire. 

So  far  as  the  physical  traits  of  the  American  aborigines 
furnish  any  evidence  of  ethnical  affinity  *hey  unquestionably 
suggest  some  common  line  of  descent  with  the  Asiatic 
Mongol ;  and  this  is  consistent  with  the  agglutinate  char- 
acteristics common  to  a  large  class  of  languages  of  both 
continents.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  characteristic  head- 
form  of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  as  well  as  that  of  Algonkin  and 
other  northern  tribes,  deviates  alike  from  the  brachycephalic 
type  of  the  southern  Indians  and  from  that  of  the  Asiatic 
Mongols.  Humboldt,  who  enjoyed  rare  opportunities  for 
studying  the  ethnical  characteristics  of  both  continents,  but 
to  whom,  nevertheless,  the  northern  races,  with  their  dolicho- 
cephalic type  of  head  were  unknown,  dwells,  in  his  American 
Researches,  on  the  striking  resemblance  which  the  American 
race  bear  to  the  Asiatic  Mongols.  Latham  classes  both  under 
the  common  head  of  Mongolidfe ;  and  Dr.  Charles  Pickering, 
of  the  American  Exploring  Expedition,  amved  at  the  same 
conclusion  as  the  result  of  his  own  independent  study  of  the 
races  of  both  continents.  Nevertheless,  however  great  may  be 
the  resemblance  in  many  points  between  the  true  Red  Indian 
and  the  Asiatic  Mongol,  it  falls  short  of  even  an  approximate 
physical  identity.  The  Mongolian  of  Asia  is  not  indeed  to  be 
spoken  of  as  one  unvarying  type  any  more  than  the  Amorican. 
But  the  extent  to  which  the  Mongolian  head-form  and  peculiar 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE         261 


physiognomy  characterise  one  widely  diffused  section  of  the 
population  of  the  eastern  continent,  gives  it  special  pro- 
minence among  the  great  ethnical  divisions  of  the  human  race. 
Morton  assigna  1421  as  the  cranial  capacity  of  eighteen 
Mongol,  and  only  1234  as  that  of  134  American  skulls 
other  than  Ptruvian  or  Mexican.  Dr.  Paul  Topinard,  in 
discussing  the  American  type,  adds :  "  If  we  are  to  rely  on 
the  method  of  cubic  measurement  followed  by  Morton,  the 
American  skull  is  one  of  the  least  capacious  of  the  whole 
human  race."  ^  But  Dr.  Morton's  results  are  in  some  respects 
misleading.  The  mean  capacity  yielded  by  the  measurements 
of  214  American  skuL-  in  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Archae- 
ology, including  a  considerable  number  of  females,  is  1331  ; 
and  with  a  carefully  selected  series,  excluding  exceptionally 
large  and  small  crania,  the  results  would  be  higher.  Twenty- 
six  male  California  skulls,  for  example,  yield  a  mean  capacity 
of  1470.  The  Huron-Iroquois  crania  would  rank  among  such 
exceptional  examples.^  The  forehead  is,  indeed,  low  and 
receding,  but  the  general  cerebral  capacity  is  good;  and 
Dr.  Morton  specially  notes  its  approximation  to  the  European 
mean.^ 

But  the  assumption  of  uniformity  in  the  ethnical  char- 
acteristics of  the  various  races  of  North  and  S'  uth  America 
is  untenable.  All  probabilities  rather  favour  the  idea  of  dif- 
ferent ethnical  centres,  a  diversity  of  origin,  and  considerable 
admixture  of  races.  All  evidence,  moreover,  whether  physical 
or  philological,  whatever  else  it  may  prove,  leaves  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  a  greatly  prolonged  period  of  isolation  of  the 
native  races  of  the  New  World.  Whether  they  came  from 
the  Mediterranean,  in  that  old  mythic  dawn  the  memory  of 
which  survived  in  the  legend  of  a  submerged  Atlantis ;  or  the 
history  of  their  primeval  migration  still  lingers  among  fading 
traces  of  philological  affinity  with  the  Basques ;  or  if,  with  the 
still  more  remote  glimpses  which  aflfinite  Arctic  ethnology  has 
been  assumed  to  supply,  we  seek  to  follow  the  palaeolithic  race 
of  Central  Europe's  Reindeer  period  in  the  long  pilgrimage  to 
Behring  Straits,  and  so  to  the  later  home  of  the  American 

'  Anthrvpology,  by  Dr.  Paul  Topinard  :  Eng.  Trans,  p.  480. 
*  "The  Huron  Race  and  Head-form:"  N.  S.  Canadian  Jouriuil,  vol.  xiii. 
p.  113.  *  Crania  Americana,  p.  195. 


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262  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

Mongol ;  this,  at  least,  becomes  more  and  more  obvious,  that 
they  brought  with  them  no  arts  derived  from  the  ancient 
civilisations  of  Egypt  or  of  Asia.  So  far,  at  least,  as  the 
northern  continent  is  concerned,  no  evidence  tends  to  suggest 
that  the  aborigines  greatly  differed  at  any  earlier  period  from 
the  condition  in  which  they  were  found  by  Cartier  when 
he  first  entered  the  St.  Lawrence,  They  were  absolutely 
Ignorant  of  metallurgy ;  and  notwithstanding  the  abundance 
of  pure  native  copper  accessible  to  them,  they  cannot  be  said 
even  to  have  attained  to  that  rudimentary  stage  of  metallurgic 
art  which  for  Europe  is  spoken  of  as  its  "  Copper  Age." 
Copper  was  to  them  no  more  than  a  malleable  stone,  which 
they  fashioned  into  axes  and  knives  with  their  stone  hammers. 
Their  pottery  was  of  the  most  primitive  crudeness,  hand- 
fashioned  by  their  women  without  the  aid  of  the  potter's 
wheel.  The  grass  or  straw -plaiting  of  their  basket-work 
might  seem  to  embody  the  hint  of  the  weaver's  loom ;  but 
the  products  of  the  chase  furnished  them  with  skins  of  the 
bear  and  deer,  sufficient  for  all  purposes  of  clothing.  They 
had  advanced  in  no  degree  beyond  the  condition  of  the 
neolithic  savage  of  Europe's  Stone  age  when,  at  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  they  vrere  abruptly  brought  into 
contact  with  its  cultured  arts.  The  gifted  historian,  Mr. 
Erancis  Parkman,  who  has  thrown  so  fascinating  an  interest 
over  the  story  of  their  share  in  the  long-protracted  struggle 
of  the  French  and  English  colonists  of  North  America,  says 
of  them  :  "  Among  all  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  continent 
the  Iroquois  stand  paramount.  Elements  which  among  other 
tribes  were  crude,  confused,  and  embryotic,  were  among  tliem 
systematised  and  concreted  into  an  established  polity.  The 
Iroquois  was  the  Indian  of  Indians.  A  thorough  savage, 
yet  a  finished  and  developed  savage.  He  is  perhaps  '\\\ 
example  of  the  highest  elevation  which  man  can  reach  without 
emerging  from  his  primitive  condition  of  the  hunter."  Y<it 
with  this  high  estimate  of  the  race  as  pre-eminent  among  Ecd 
Indian  nations,  he  adds:  "That  the  Iroquois,  left  under  their 
institutions  to  work  out  their  destiny  undisturbed,  would  ever 
have  developed  a  civilisation  of  their  own,  I  do  not  believe."  ^ 
They  had  not,  in  truth,  taken  the  first  step  in  such  a  direc- 

:      ^  TAe  Jestti<s  m  Aor</i  ^jHerica,  p.  47.  V        - 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :   A  TYPICAL  RACE         263 

tion;  and,  were  it  not  for  the  evidence  which  language 
supplies,  it  would  be  conceivable  that  they,  and  the  whole 
barbarian  nations  of  which  they  are  a  type,  were  Mongol 
intruders  of  a  later  date  than  the  Northmen  of  the  tenth 
century;  who,  it  seems  far  from  improbable,  encountered  only 
the  Eskimo  of  the  Labrador  coast,  or  their  more  southern 
congeners,  then  extending  to  the  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
The  prevalence  of  a  brachycephalic  type  of  head  among 
southern  Indian  tribes,  while  dolichocephalic  characteristics 
are  common  to  the  Eskimo  and  to  the  Huron-Iroquois  and 
other  northern  nations,  lends  countenance  to  the  idea  of  an  in- 
termixture of  Red  Indian  and  Eskimo  blood.  The  head-forms, 
however,  though  both  long,  differ  in  other  respects ;  and  a 
divergence  is  apparent  on  comparing  the  bones  of  the  face, 
with  a  corresponding  difference  in  their  physiognomy. 

Dr.  Latham  recognised  the  Iroquois  as  one  of  the  most 
typical  families  of  the  North  American  race,  and  Mr.  Parkman 
styles  them  "  the  Indian  of  the  Indians."  The  whole  Kuron- 
Iroquois  history  illustrates  their  patient,  politic  diplomacy,  their 
devotion  to  hunting  and  to  war.  But  their  policy  gave  no 
comprehensive  aim  to  wars  which  reduced  their  numbers,  and 
threatened  their  verv  existence  as  a  race.  Throughout  the 
entire  period  of  any  direct  knowledge  of  them  by  Europeans, 
there  is  constant  evidence  of  feuds  between  members  of  the 
common  stock,  due  in  part,  indeed,  to  their  becoming  involved 
in  the  rivalries  of  French  and  English  colonists,  but  also 
traceable  to  hereditary  animosities  perpetuated  through  many 
generations.  The  strongly  marked  diversities  in  the  dialects  of 
the  Six  Nations  is  itself  an  eviaence  of  their  long  separation, 
prior  to  their  confederation,  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  By  far  the  most  trustworthy  narrative  of  this  famous 
league  is  embodied  by  Mr.  Horatio  Hale  in  The  Iroquois  Book 
of  Rites,  a  contribution  to  aboriginal  American  literature  of 
singular  interest  and  value.  Among  the  members  of  this 
confederacy  the  Tuscaroras  occupy  a  peculiar  position.  They 
were  reunited  to  the  common  stock  so  recently  as  1714,  but 
their  traditions  accord  with  those  of  the  whole  Huron-Iroquois 
family  in  pointing  to  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence  as  their  original 
home ;  and  the  diversity  of  the  Tuscarora  dialect  from  those  of 
the  older  nations  of  the  league  furnishes  a  valuable  gauge  of 


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r//^  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


tlie  significance  of  such  differences  as  evidence  of  the  length 
of  period  during  which  the  various  members  of  the  common 
stock  had  been  separated.  On  the  other  hand,  the  manner  in 
which,  in  the  absence  of  any  hereditary  feud,  the  Iroquois 
respected  the  bonds  of  co.isanguinity,  and  welcomed  the 
fugitive  immigrants  from  North  Carolina,  throws  an  interesting 
light  on  the  history  of  the  race,  and  the  large  extent  of  country 
occupied  by  it  in  the  time  of  its  greatest  prosperity. 

The  earliest  home  of  the  whole  Huron-Iroquois  stock  was 
within  the  area  of  Quebec  and  Eastern  Ontario,  and  they  have 
thus  a  claim  on  the  interest  of  Canadians  as  their  precursors  in 
the  occupation  of  the  soil ;  while,  in  so  far  as  its  actual 
occupancy  by  the  representatives  of  the  common  stock  is  con- 
cerned, the  Hurons  were  welcomed  to  a  friendly,  if  fatal, 
alliance  with  the  early  French  colonists ;  and  the  Iroquois  of 
the  Six  Nations  have  enjoyed  a  home,  under  the  protection  of 
England,  on  the  western  Canadian  reserves  set  apart  for  their 
use  upwards  of  a  century  agd. 

There  is  one  notable  inconsistency  in  the  tiiuUtions  of  the 
Huron  -  Iroquois  which  is  signiUcant.  The  fathers  of  the 
common  stock  dwelt,  according  to  their  most  cherished 
memories,  in  their  northern  home  on  the  St.  Lawrunce,  and 
beside  the  great  sea.  It  ranked  also  anioug  tlio  ancient 
traditions  of  the  "Wampum  keepers,"  nt  nllluial  annalists,  that 
there  came  a  time  when,  from  whatuvnr  causn,  the  ( 'aniengas — 
Ka-nyen-ke-ha-ka,  or  Flint  people,  i.e.  the  Mohawks, — the 
"eldest  brother"  of  the  family,  led  the  way  from  the  northern 
shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  tljiiir  later  home  in  uiuit  is  now 
the  State  of  New  N'ork.  put  the  i)rehistoric  character  of 
this  Iftter  tradition  is  s||qw||  W  j;he  fact  that  the  Oneidas, 
Om>ndagas,  and  Swiecas,  all  claiilied  t"or  themselves  the  char- 
acter of  autochthoiuea  in  thelt  later  home.  The  precise  spot 
where,  acconlii\^  to  tlie  cherished  legend  of  the  Oneidas,  hey 
literally  sprang  tinni  the  soil,  is  still  marked  by  "  the  Oneida 
Stone,"  a  lai^*^  boidileiol  llesh-cuiouied  syenite,  from  which  the 
hiiMjer  o«^lled  themselves  Oniota-aug,  "  the  people  begot  from 
tim  stoBie."  It  occupies  a  commanding  site  overlooking  a  fine 
expanse  <rf  country  stretching  to  the  Oneida  Lake.  But, 
according  to  Mr.  Hale,  the  name  of  '  '^u.'^Ma  nation,  in  tlie 
couQ^  ^  the  league,  was  Ni\: i'l  1  Oiiuikoi.ia ^  i>:nally  rendered 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A   TYPICAL  RACE         265 

the  "  great-tree  people,"  or  literally  "  those  of  the  great  log." 
This  designation  is  connected,  most  probably  as  an  after- 
thought, with  a  legendary  meeting  of  their  people  with 
Hiawatha.^  The  beautiful  legend  of  this  benefactor  of  his 
people  has  been  embalmed  in  the  Indian  epic  of  Longfellow, 
and  dealt  with  as  a  chapter  of  genuine  history  in  Mr.  Horatio 
Hale's  Iroquois  Book  of  Bites.  At  a  period  when  the  tribes  were 
being  wasted  by  constant  wars  within  and  without,  a  wise  and 
beneficent  chief  arose  among  the  Onondagas.  His  name  is 
rendered :  "  he  who  seeks  the  wampum  belt."  He  had  long 
viewed  with  grief  the  dissensions  and  misery  of  his  people,  and 
conceived  the  idea  of  a  federal  union  which  should  ensure 
peace.  The  system  which  he  devised  was  to  be  not  a  loose  and 
transitory  league,  such  as  the  Indian  tribes  were  familiar  with ; 
but  a  permanent  organisation,  foreshadowing  as  it  were  the 
federal  union  of  the  Anglo-American  Colonies.  "While  each 
nation  was  to  retain  its  own  council  and  its  management  of 
local  affairs,  the  general  control  was  to  be  lodged  in  a  federal 
senate,  composed  of  representatives  elected  by  each  nation, 
holding  office  during  good  behaviour,  and  acknowledged  as 
riding  chiefs  throughout  the  confederacy.  Still  further,  and 
more  remarkably,  tlie  confederation  was  not  to  be  a  limited  one. 
It  was  to  be  infinitely  expansive.  The  avowed  design  of  its 
proposer  was  to  abolish  war  altogether.  He  wished  the 
federation  to  extend  until  all  the  tribes  of  men  should  be 
included  in  it.  Such,"  says  Mr.  Hale,  "  is  the  positive  testimony 
of  the  Iroquois  themselves,  and  their  statement  is  supported  by 
historical  evidence."^  The  league  survived  far  on  into  the 
eighteenth  century ;  but  the  dream  of  universal  peace  among 
the  nations  of  the  New  World,  if  it  ever  found  any  realisation, 
had  vanished  in  the  reawakening  of  the  demon  of  strife. 

In  all  the  accounts  of  the  Iroquois  their  league  is  noted  as 
distinguishing  them  from  the  Algonkins  and  other  ruder  tribes 
of  North  America.  The  story  of  this  league  has  been  reproduced 
by  successive  historians,  not  without  rhetorical  exaggerations 
borrowed  from  the  institutions  of  civilised  nations,  both  of 
ancient  and  modern  times.  The  late  Hon.  L  H.  Morgan 
says  of  this  tribal  union :  "  Under  their  federal  system  the 
Iroquois  flourished  in  independence,  and  capable  of  self-proteo- 

1  The  Iroqiiois  Book  of  Rites,  p.  73.  X       «  Ihid.  pp.  21,  22. 


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266  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:     i  TYPICAL  RACE 

tion,  long  after  the  New  Englau>,  ind  Virginia  races  had 
surrendered  their  jurisdictions,  and  fallen  into  the  condition  of 
dependent  nations  ;  and  they  now  stand  forth  upon  the  canvas 
of  Indian  history,  prominent  alike  for  the  wisdom  of  their  civil 
institutions,  their  sagacity  in  the  administration  of  the  league, 
and  their  courage  in  its  defence.  When  their  power  and 
sovereignty  finally  passed  away,  it  was  through  the  events  of 
peaceful  intercourse,  gradually  progressing  to  this  result."^ 
Schoolcraft  in  like  manner  refers  to  "  their  advancement  in  the 
economy  of  living,  in  arms,  in  diplomacy,  and  in  civil  polity," 
as  evidence  of  a  remote  date  for  their  confederacy.^  But  while 
thus  contrasting  the  "  power  and  sovereignty  "  of  the  Iroquois 
with  the  "  dependent  nations  "  to  the  south,  Schoolcraft  leaves 
it  manifest  that,  whatever  may  have  been  the  extent  of  the 
ancient  confederacy,  in  the  seventeenth  century  their  whole 
numbers  fell  short  of  12,000  ;  and  in  1677  their  warriors  or 
fighting  men  were  carefully  estimated  at  2150.  The  diviersity 
of  dialects  of  the  different  members  of  the  league  is  a  source  of 
curious  interest  to  the  philologist ;  but  the  fact  that,  among  a 
people  numerically  so  small,  local  dialects  were  thus  perpet- 
uated, is  a  proof  of  the  very  partial  influence  of  the  leogue  as  a 
bond  of  union.  It  serves  to  illustrate  the  general  defect  of 
native  American  polity.  "  Nothing,"  says  Max  Miiller,  "  sur- 
prised the  Jesuit  missionai'ies  so  much  as  the  immense  number 
of  languages  spoken  by  the  natives  of  America.  But  this,  far 
from  being  a  proof  of  a  high  state  of  civilisation,  rather  showed 
that  the  various  races  of  America  had  never  submitted  for  any 
length  of  time  to  a  powerful  political  concentration.^  The 
Iroquois  were  undoubtedly  pre-eminent  in  the  highest  virtues  of 
the  savage ;  and  could  they  have  been  isolated  in  the  critical 
transitional  stage,  like  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  their  Nile 
valley,  the  Greeks  in  their  Hellenic  peninsula,  or  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  in  their  insular  stronghold — 

'  ....  set  in  the  silver  sea 

Whicli  serves  it  in  the  office  of  a  wall 
Or  as  a  moat  defensive — 

until  they  learned  to  unite  with  their  courage  and  persistency  in 

^  League  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  4.  '  Notes  on  the  Iroquois,  p.  51. 

*  Lectures  op,  the  Science  of  Lan^guagc,  5th  ed.  p.  58. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         267 

war  some  of  the  elements  of  progress  in  civilisation  ascribed  to 
them,  they  might  have  proved  the  regenerators  of  the  continent, 
and  reserved  it  for  permanent  occupation  by  races  of  native 
origin.  "  Wherever  they  went,"  says  Schoolcraft, "  they  carried 
proofs  of  their  energy,  courage,  and  enterprise.  At  one  period 
we  hear  the  sound  of  their  war-cry  along  the  Straits  of  the  St. 
Mary's,  and  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Superior ;  at  anotlier,  under  the 
walls  of  Quebec,  where  they  finally  defeated  the  Hurons  under 
the  eyes  of  the  French."^  And  after  glancing  at  the  long 
history  of  their  triumphs,  he  adds :  "  Nations  trembled  when 
they  heard  the  name  of  the  Konoshioni." 

In  older  centuries,  while  the  Huron -Iroquois  still  consti- 
tuted one  united  people  in  their  ancestral  home  to  the  north 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  they  must  have  been  liable  to  contact 
with  the  Eskimo,  both  on  the  north  and  the  east;  and  greatly 
as  the  two  races  differ,  the  dolichocephalic  type  of  Load  com- 
mon to  both  is  not  only  suggestive  of  possibh  intermixture, 
but  also  of  encroachments  on  the  Eskimo  in  early  centuries 
by  this  aggressive  race.  In  th«;  sixteenth  and  s('\enteenth 
centuries,  as  probably  at  a  much  earlicT  date,  whou  the  Iro- 
quois had  parted  from  the  Hurons,  they  became  unquestion- 
ably tlie  aggressive  race  of  the  northern  continent ;  and  were 
an  object  of  dread  to  widely  severed  nations.  Their  earliest 
foes  were  probably  the  Algonkins,  whose  original  home  appears 
to  have  been  between  Lake  Superior  and  Hudson  Bay. 
Nevertheless,  there  was  a  time,  according  to  the  traditions 
of  both,  apparently  in  some  old  pre-Columbian  century, 
when  Iroquois  and  Algonkins  combined  their  forces  against 
the  long-extinct  stock  whose  name  survives  in  that  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  and  river.  But  if  so,  their  numbers 
must  have  then  vastly  exceeded  that  of  their  whole  combined 
nations  at  any  period  subsequent  to  their  first  intercourse  with 
Europeans.  Eor  if  the  growing  opinion  is  correct  that  the 
Alligewi  wer*  the  so  •'•ailed  "Mound-Builders"  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Ohio  valleys,  they  must  have  been  a  numerous 
jpeopl<\  occi«]^ing  a  territory  of  great  extent,  and  carrying  oa 
agrju;ijltufo  on  a  large  scale.  So  far  as  metallurgy — that 
crucial  test  of  civilisfttion, — is  concerned,  tliey  had  not  advanced 
beyond  ibe   stage   of  Iroquois   progress.     Their  pottery  and 

I  Nolea  on  the  Iroquois,  p.  52. 


If, 


268 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


ingenious  carvings  in  stone  have  already  been  noted,  along 
with  their  singular  geometrical  earthworks  which  still  puzzle 
the  American  archaeologist,  from  the  evidence  they  show  of 
skill  in  a  people  still  practically  in  their  Stone  period.     The 
only  conceivable  solution  of  the  mystery,  as  already  suggested, 
seems  to  me  the  assumption  of  some  "  Druidic  "  or  Brahminical 
caste,  distinct  from  the  native  Allig(5wi   stock,  who  ruled  in 
those  great  northern  river-valleys,  as  in  Peru ;  and,  like  the 
mythic  Quetzalcoatl  of  the  Aztecs,   taught  them  agriculture, 
and  directed  the  construction  of  the  marvellous  works  to  which 
they  owe  their  later  distinctive  name.     But  for  some  unknown 
reason  they  provoked  tlie  united  fury  of  Iroquois  and  Algon- 
kins ;  and  after  long -protracted  strife  were  driven  out,  if  not 
wholly  exterminated.      A  curious   phase   of  incipient  native 
civilisation    thus    perished ;     and,     notwithstanding    all    the 
romance   attaclied  to   the  league   of  the   Iroquois,  it  is  im- 
possible to  credit  them  at  any  stage  of  their  own  history  with 
the  achievement  of  such  a  progress  in  agriculture  or  primitive 
arts  as  we  must  ascribe  to  this  ancient  people  of  the  Ohio 
valley.     To   the   triumph   of  the    Iroquois  in  this   long-pro- 
tracted warfare  may  have  been  due  the  haughty  spirit  which 
thenceforth  demanded  a  recognition  of  their  supremacy  from 
all  surrounding  nations.     Their   partial   historians  ascribe  to 
them  a  spirit  of  magnanimity  in  the  use  of  their  power,  and 
a   mediatorial  interposition   among  the   weaker   nations  that 
acknowledged  their  supremacy.     They  appear,  indeed,  to  have 
again  entered  into  alliance  with  an  Algonkin  nation.      Their 
annalists  have  transmitted  the  memory  of  a  treaty  effected  with 
tliu  Ujihways,  wJion  the  latter  dwelt  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Superior;  and   the  in(3eting- place  of  the  two  powerful  races 
WHS  at  the  great  fisliing  ground  of  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  rapids, 
witliin   reach  of  tlie  copper  b<'ttri»g  rorl<«  of  the  Keweenaw 
peninsula.      The  league  then  estabiishfe'l  is  believed  to  have 
been   faitlifully  /naintained  on  both  sides  /or  u//vverds  of  two 
hundred   years      But  if  so,  it  had  been  displaced  by   bitter 
feud  in  the  interval  between  fcb#  VWiJ*  QfPs^mtAfd  OJ^wplflW 
to  the  St.  J /ft  wrence. 

The  historic.  fi^'-ance  given  itf  tiie  legend  of  Hiawatliii 

by  the   cr/herent  narratiVi6   it^    ingminusly   dftdii/ifld    by   Mr. 
Horatio  Hales  from  The,  Iroquois  pmk  in  fiihif  yiAiM  Ui  n 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


269 


long-past  era  of  beneficent  rule  and  social  progress  among  the 
Huron-Iroquois.  But  the  era  is  pre-Columbian,  if  not  mythic. 
The  pipe  of  peace  had  been  long  extinguished,  and  the  buried 
tomahawk  recovered,  when  the  early  French  explorers  were 
brought  into  contact  with  the  Iroquois  and  Hurons.  The 
liistory  of  their  deeds,  as  recorded  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  from 
personal  observation,  is  replete  with  the  relentless  ferocity  of 
the  savage.  War  was  their  pastime ;  and  they  were  ever 
ready  to  welcome  the  call  to  arms.  La  Salle  came  in  contact 
with  them  on  the  discovery  of  the  Illinois ;  and  Captain  John 
Smith,  the  founder  of  Virginia,  encountered  their  canoes  on 
the  Chesapeake  Bay  bearing  a  band  of  Iroquois  warriors  to  the 
territories  of  the  Powhattan  confederacy.  They  were  then,  as 
ever,  the  same  fierce  marauders,  intolerant  ui  equality  with 
any  neighbouring  tribe.  The  Susquehannocks  experienced  at 
their  hands  the  same  fate  as  the  Allig^wi.  The  Lenapes, 
Shawnees,  Nanticokes,  Unamis,  Delawares,  Munsees,  and  Man- 
hattans, were  successively  reduced  to  the  condition  of  depend- 
ent tribes.  Even  the  Canarse  Indians  of  Long  Island  were 
not  safe  from  their  vengeance ;  and  their  power  seems  to  have 
been  dreaded  throughout  the  whole  region  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Mississippi. 

It  thus  appears  probable  thafc  in  remote  centuries,  before 
thg  discovery  of  America  by  European  voj^agers,  the  region 
extending  westward  from  the  Labrador  coast  to  Lake  Ontario, 
if  not,  indeed,  to  Lake  Huron,  had  been  in  occupation  by  those 
who  claimed  to  be  autochthones,  auc"  who  were  known  and 
feaveu  far  beyond  their  own  frontiers.  But  though  thus  main- 
taining a  haughty  predominancy ;  so  far  as  their  arts  afford 
an;'/  evidence,  they  were  in  their  infancy.  The  country  occu- 
pied by  them,  except  in  so  far  as  it  was  overgrown  with  the 
forest,  was  well  adapted  for  agriculture ;  and  the  Iroquois  and 
Hurons  alike  compared  favourably  with  the  Algonkins  in  their 
agricultural  industry.  A  confirmatory  evidence  of  exceptional 
superiority  among  this  remarkable  race  is  that  their  women 
were  held  in  unwonted  respect.  They  had  their  own  repre- 
sentatives in  the  council  of  the  tribe ;  and  exercised  consider- 
able influence  in  the  choice  of  a  chief.  But  on  them  devolved 
all  domestic  labour,  incbiding  the  cultivation  of  their  fields. 
This  Work  was  entirely  carried  on  by  the  women,  while  the 


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270  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

share  of  tlie  men  in  the  joint  provision  of  food  was  the  pro- 
duct of  the  chase.  The  beautiful  region  was  still  so  largely 
under  forest  that  it  must  have  afforded  abiindant  resources  for 
the  hunter ;  but  it  furnished  no  facilities  for  the  inauguration 
of  a  copper  or  bronze  age,  such  as  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior 
in  vain  offered  to  its  Algonkin  nomads.  Of  metallic  ores  they 
had  no  knowledge ;  and  while  they  doubtless  prized  the  copper 
brought  occasionally  from  Lake  Superior,  copper  implements 
are  rare  in  the  region  which  they  occupied.  Their  old  alliance 
with  the  Algonkins  of  the  great  copper  region  had  long  come 
to  an  end ;  and  when  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  French 
and  English  colonists,  the  Algonkins  had  joined  with  the 
Hurons  as  the  implacable  foes  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy. 

In  the  ancient  warfare  in  which  Algonkins  and  Huron- 
Iroquois  are  found  united  against  the  nation  of  the  great  river 
valleys,  we  see  evidences  of  a  conflict  between  widely  distinct 
stocks  of  northern  and  southern  origin.  It  is  an  antagonism 
between  well-defined  dolichocephalic  and  brachycephalic  races. 
In  the  dolichocephalic  Iroquois  or  Huron,  we  have  the  highest 
type  of  the  forest  savage ;  maintaining  as  his  own  the  territory 
of  his  fathers,  and  building  palisaded  towns  for  the  secure 
shelter  of  his  people.  The  brachycephalic  Mound-Builder,  on 
the  other  hand,  may  still  survive  in  one  or  other  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  semi-civilised  village  communities  of  New  Mexico 
or  Arizona.  But  if  the  interpretatio\i  of  native  traditions  have 
any  value,  they  carry  us  back  to  pre-Columbian  centuries,  and 
tell  of  long-protracted  strife,  until  what  may  at  first  have  been 
no  more  than  the  aggressions  of  wild  northern  races,  tempted 
by  the  resources  of  an  industrious  agricultural  community, 
became  a  war  of  extermination.  The  elaborately  constructed 
forts  of  the  Mound-Builders,  no  less  abundant  throughout  the 
Ohio  valley  than  their  curious  geometrical  earthworks,  prove 
the  dangers  to  which  they  were  exposed,  no  less  than  the  skill 
and  determination  with  which  the  aggressors  were  withstood, 
it  may  be  through  successive  generations,  before  their  final 
overthrow. 

The  palisaded  Indian  town  of  Hochelaga,  one  of  the  chief 
urban  centres  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  tribes  in  the  older  home 
of  tho  race,  and  a  sample  of  the  later  Huron  defences  on  the 
Georgian  Bay,  stood,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  at  the  foot  of 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:   A   TYPICAL  RACE         271 


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Mount  Koyal,  whence  the  city  of  Montreal  takes  its  name; 
and  sr>me  of  the  typical  skulls  of  its  old  occupants,  as  well  as 
flint  implements  and  pottery  from  its  8i"\  are  now  preserved 
in  the  Museum  of  M'Gill  University.  The  latter  relics  reveal 
no  more  than  had  long  been  familiar  in  the  remains  which 
abound  within  the  area  cf  the  Iro(^uois  confederacy,  and  else- 
where throughout  the  eastern  statrs  of  North  America.  Their 
earthenware  vessels  were  decorated  with  herring  bone  and 
othor  incised  patterns  ;  and  their  tobacco  pipes  and  ^he  handles 
of  their  clay  bowls  were,  at  times,  .  mh  ly  modelled  into  human 
and  animal  forms.  Their  implements  of  Hint  and  stone  were 
equally  rude.  They  had  inherited  little  moi  than  the  most 
infantile  savage  arts ;  and  when  those  were  at  length  super- 
seded, in  some  degree,  by  implements  and  weapons  of  I'nropean 
manufacture,  they  prized  the  more  effective  weapons,  but 
manifested  no  desire  for  mastering  the  arts  to  which  they  were 
due.  To  nil  appearance,  through  unnumbered  centuries,  the 
tide  of  human  life  has  ebbed  and  flowed  in  the  valley  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  as  unprogressively  as  on  the  great  steppes  of 
Asia,  Sunh  footprints  as  the  wanderers  have  left  on  the 
sand  of  time  tell  only  of  the  unchanging  recurrence  of  gener- 
ations of  men  as  years  and  centuries  can;e  and  passed  away. 
Illustrations  of  native  art  are  now  very  faniliar  to  us.  The 
ancient  flint  pita  have  been  explored ;  and  the  flint  cores  and 
rough-hewn  nodules  recovered.  The  implements  of  war  and 
the  chase  wf.'re  the  work  of  the  Indian  brave.  His  spears  and 
arrow  heads,  his  knives,  chisels,  celts,  and  hammers,  in  flint  and 
stone,  abound.  Fish-hooks,  lances  or  spears,  awls,  bodkins, 
and  other  implements  of  bone  and  deer's  horn,  are  little  less 
common.  The  highest  efforts  of  artistic  skill  were  expended 
on  the  carving  of  his  stone  pipe,  and  fashioning  the  pipe-stem. 
The  pottery,  the  work  of  female  hands,  is  usually  in  the 
simplest  stage  of  coarse,  handmade,  fictile  ware.  The  patterns, 
incised  on  the  soft  clay,  are  the  conventional  reproductions  of 
the  grass  or  straw  plaiting ;  or,  at  times,  the  actual  impressions 
of  the  cordage  or  wicker-work  by  which  the  larger  clay  vessels 
were  held  in  shape,  to  be  dried  in  the  sun  before  they  were 
imperfectly  burned  in  the  primitive  kiln.  But  the  potter  also 
indulged  her  fancy  at  times  in  modelling  artistic  devices  of 
men  and  animals,  as  the  handles  of  the  smaller  ware,  or  the 


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.Wms  in  which  the  clay  tobacco-pipe  was  wrought.  Never- 
theless the  northern  continent  lingered  to  the  last  in  its 
primitive  stage  of  neolithic  art;  and  its  most  northern  were 
its  rudest  tribes,  until  we  pass  within  the  Arctic  circle  and 
come  in  contact  with  the  ingenious  handiwork  of  the  Eskimo. 
Southward  beyond  the  great  lakes,  and  especially  within  the 
area  of  the  Mound-Builders,  a  manifest  improvement  is  notice- 
able. Alike  in  their  stone  carvings  and  their  modelling  in 
clay,  the  more  artistic  design  and  better  finish  of  industrious 
settled  communities  are  apparent.  Still  further  to  the  south, 
the  diversified  ingenuity  of  fancy,  especially  in  the  pottery,  is 
suggestive  of  an  influence  derived  from  Mexican  and  Peruvian 
art.  The  carved  work  of  some  western  tribes  was  also  of  a 
higher  character.  T^ut  taking  such  work  at  its  best,  it  cannot 
compare  in  skill  or  practical  utility  with  the  industrial  arts  of 
Europe's  Neolithic  age.  This  region  has  now  been  visited  and 
explored  by  Europeans  for  four  centuries,  during  a  large  por- 
tion of  which  time  they  have  been  permanent  settlers.  Its 
soil  has  been  turned  up  over  areas  of  such  wide  extent  that  the 
results  may  be  accepted,  with  little  hesitation,  as  illustrations 
of  the  arts  and  social  life  subsequent  to  the  occupation  of  the 
continent  by  its  aboriginal  races.  But  we  look  in  vain  for 
evidence  of  an  extinct  native  civilisation.  However  far  back 
the  presence  of  man  in  the  New  World  may  be  traced,  through- 
out the  northern  continent,  at  least,  he  seems  never  to  have 
attained  to  any  higher  stage  than  what  is  indicated  by  such 
evidences  of  settled  occupation  as  were  shown  in  the  palisaded 
Indian  town  of  Hochelaga ;  or  at  most,  in  the  ancient  settle- 
ments of  the  Ohio  vaUey.  Everywhere  the  agriculturist  only 
disturbs  the  graves  of  the  savage  hunter.  The  earthworks  of 
the  Mound-Builders,  and  still  more  their  configuration,  are 
indeed  suggestive  of  a  people  in  a  condition  analogous  to  that 
of  the  ancient  populace  of  Egypt  or  Assyria,  toiling  under  the 
direction  of  an  overruling  caste,  and  working  out  intellectual 
conceptions  of  which  they  themselves  were  incapable.  Yet, 
even  in  their  case,  this  inference  finds  no  confirmation  from 
the  contents  of  their  mounds  or  earthworks.  They  disclose 
only  implements  of  bone,  flint,  and  stone,  with  some  rare 
examples  of  equally  rude  copper  tools,  hammered  into  shape 
without  the  use  of  fire.     Working  in  the  metals  appears  to 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:   A   TYPICAL  RACE  273 


have  been  confined  to  the  southern  continent ;  or,  at  least, 
never  to  have  found  its  way  northward  of  the  Mexican  plateau. 
Nothing  but  the  ingeniously  sculptured  tobacco  pipe,  or  the 
better-fashioned  pottery,  gives  the  slightest  hint  of  progress 
beyond  the  first  infantile  stage  of  the  tool-maker. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  source  of  special  skill  among 
the  old  agricultural  occupants  of  the  Ohio  valley,  their 
Iroquois  supplanters  borrowed  from  them  no  artistic  aptitude. 
No  remains  of  its  primitive  occupants  give  the  slightest  hint 
that  the  aborigines  of  Canada,  or  of  the  country  immediately 
to  the  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  derived  any  knowledge  from 
the  old  race  so  curiously  skilled  in  the  construction  of  geo-  , 
metrical  earthworks.  Any  native  burial  mounds  or  embank- 
ments are  on  a  small  scale,  betraying  no  more  than  the 
simplest  operations  of  a  people  whose  tools  were  flint  hoes, 
and  horn  or  wooden  picks  and  shovels.  Wherever  evidence 
is  found  of  true  working  in  metals,  as  distinct  from  the  cold- 
hammered  native  copper,  as  in  the  iron  tomahawk,  the  copper 
kettles,  and  silver  crosses,  recovered  from  time  to  time  from 
Indian  graves,  their  European  origin  is  indisputable.  Small 
silver  buckles,  or  brooches,  of  native  workmanship  are  indaed 
common  in  their  graves ;  for  a  metallic  currency  was  so 
unintelligible  to  them  that  this  was  the  usr  to  which  they 
most  frequently  turned  French  or  English  silver  coinage. 

But  notwithstanding  the  general  correspondence  in  arts^ 
habits,  and  conditions  of  life,  among  the  forest  and  prairie 
tribes  of  North  America,  their  distinctive  classification  into 
various  dolichocephalic  and  brachycephalic  types  points  to 
diversity  of  origin  and  a  mingling  of  several  races.  So  far  ;.':^ 
the  native  races  of  Canada  are  considered,  it  has  been  shown 
that  they  bolong  to  the  dolichocephalic  type.  The  Allig^wi, 
or  Mound-Builders,  on  the  contrary,  appear  to  have  been  a 
strongly  marked  brachycephalic  race  ;  and  the  bitter  antagonism 
between  the  two,  which  ended  in  the  utter  ruin  of  the  latter, 
may  have  been  originally  due  to  race  distinctions  such  as  have 
frequently  been  the  source  of  implacable  strife. 

The  short  globular  head-form,  which,  in  the  famous  Scioto- 
mound  skull,  is  shown  in  a  strongly  marked  typical  example 
with  the  longitudinal  and  parietal  diameters  nearly  equal, 
appears  to   have  been   common   among   the   southern   tribes, 

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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


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such  as  the  Osages,  Ottoes,  Missouries,  Shawnees,  Cherokees, 
Seminoles,  Uchees,  Savannahs,  Catawbas,  Yainasees,  Creeks, 
and  many  others.  This  seems  to  point  to  such  a  convergence, 
of  two  distinct  ethnical  lines  of  migration  from  opposite  centres, 
as  \a  borne  out  by  much  other  evidence.  In  noting  this  aspect 
of  the  question  anew,  the  further  significant  fact  may  also  be 
once  more  repeated,  that  the  Eskimo  cranium,  along  with 
certain  specialties  of  its  own,  is  pre-eminently  distinctive  as 
the  northern  type. 

Among  what  may  be  accepted  as  typical  Canadian  skulls, 
those  recovered  from  the  old  site  of  Hochelaga,  and  from  the 
Huron  ossuaries  around  Lake  Simcoe,  have  a  special  value. 
They  represent  the  native  race  which,  under  various  names, 
extended  from  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence  westward  to  Lake  St. 
Clair.  The  people  encountered  by  Cartier  and  the  first  Frencli 
explorers  of  1535,  and  those  whom  Champlain  found  settled 
around  the  Georgian  Bay  sixty-eight  years  later,  appear  to 
have  been  of  the  same  stock.  Such  primitive  local  names,  as 
Stadacon^  and  Hochelaga,  are  not  Algonkin,  but  Huron- 
Iroquois.  Native  traditions,  as  well  as  the  allusions  of  the 
earliest  French  writers,  confirm  this  idea  of  the  occupation  by 
a  Huron-Iroquois  or  Wyandot  population  of  the  "  region  north- 
eastward from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  or  somewhere 
along  the  Gulf  coast,  before  they  ever  met  with  the  French,  or 
any  European  ad /enturers,"  as  reaffirmed  in  the  narrative  of 
their  own  native  historian,  Peter  Dooyentate.^  But  what- 
ever confirmation  may  be  found  for  this  native  tradition, 
it  is  certain  that  the  European  adventurers  bore  no  part  in 
their  expulsion  from  their  ancient  home.  The  aborigiras,  whom 
Jacques  Cartier  found  a  prosperous  people,  safe  in  the  shelter 
of  their  palisaded  towns,  had  all  vanished  before  the  return  of 
the  French  under  Champlain;  and  they  were  found  b}  him 
in  new  settlements,  which  they  had  formed  far  to  the  west- 
ward on  Lake  Simcoe  and  the  Gviorgian  Bay. 

Questions  of  considerable  interest  are  involved  in  the  con- 
sideration of  this  migration  of  the  Hurons ;  and  che  circum- 
stances under  which  they  deserted  their  earlier  home.  They 
were  visited  by  Champlain  in  1615,  and  subsequently  by  the 
missionary  Fathers,  who,  in  1639,  found  them  occupying 
1  Origin  and  Traditional  History  of  tlie  Wyandotts,  p.  4. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A   TYPICAL  RACE         27 J 


thirty-two  palisaded  villages,  fortified  in  the  same  fashion  as 
those  described  by  the  first  French  explorers  at  Stadacon^ 
and  Hochelaga.  Their  numbers  are  variously  estimated. 
Brebeuf  reckoned  them  at  30,000  ;  and  described  them  as 
living  together  in  towns  sometimes  of  fifty,  sixty,  or  a  hundred 
dwellings, — that  is,  of  three  or  four  hundred  householders, — 
and  diligently  cultivating  their  fields,  from  which  they  derived 
food  for  the  whole  year.  Whatever  higher  qualities  distin- 
guished the  Iroquois  from  Algonkia  or  other  native  races, 
were  fully  shared  in  by  the  Hurons ;  and  they  are  even 
spoken  of  with  a  natural  partiality  by  their  French  allies, 
like  Sagard,  as  a  patrician  order  of  savages,  in  comparison 
with  thoie  of  the  Five  Nations.  When  first  visited  by 
French  explorers,  after  their  protracted  journey  through  the 
desolate  forests  between  the  Ottawa  and  Lake  Huron,  their 
palisaded  towns  and  cultivated  fields  must  have  seemed  like 
an  oasis  in  the  desert.  "  To  the  eye  of  Champlain,"  savs  Mr. 
Parknian,  "accustomed  to  the  desolation  he  had  left  behind, 
it  seemed  a  land  of  beauty  and  abundance.  There  was  a 
broad  opening  in  the  forest,  fields  of  maize  with  pumpkins 
ripening  in  the  sun,  patches  of  sun-flowers,  from  the  seeds  of 
which  the  Indians  made  hair-oil,  and  in  the  midst  the  Huron 
town  of  Otouacha.  la  all  essential  points  it  resembled  that 
which  Cartier,  eighty  years  before,  had  seen  at  Montreal ;  the 
same  triple  palisade  of  crossed  and  intersecting  trunks,  and 
the  same  long  lodges  of  bark,  each  containing  many  house- 
holds. Here,  within  an  area  of  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  was 
the  seat  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  savage  communities  of 
the  continent."  ^  The  Hurons,  thus  settled  in  their  latter 
home,  consisted  of  several  "  nations,"  including  their  kinsmen 
to  the  south,  as  far  as  Lake  Erie  and  the  Niagara  river.  They 
had  their  own  tribal  divisions,  still  perpetuated  among  their 
descendants.  The  Rev.  Prosper  Vincent  SaSatannen,  a  native 
Huron,  and  the  first  of  his  race  admitted  to  the  priesthood, 
informs  me  that  the  Hurons  of  Lorette  still  perpetuate  their 
ancient  classification  into  four  grandes  compagnies,  each  of 
which  has  its  five  tribal  divisions  or  clans,  by  which  of  old  all 
intermarriage  was  regulated,  The  members  of  the  same  clan 
regarded  themselves  as  brothers  and  sisters,  and  so  were  pre- 

*  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World,  p.  367. 


-•   cfj 


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376 


7WZ:  HURON-IROQUOIS :   A   TYPICAL  RACE 


eluded  from  marriage  with  one  another.  The  small  number 
of  the  whole  band  at  La  Jeune  Lorette  renders  the  literal 
enforcement  of  this  rule  impoasible ;  but  the  children  are  still 
regarded  as  belonging  to  the  mother's  clan.  The  five  clans 
into  which  each  of  the  four  companies  is  divided  are  : — 1.  The 
Deer,  Oskanonton ;  2.  The  Bear,  Anniolen ;  3.  The  Wolf, 
AnnenariskSa ;  4.  The  Tortoise,  AndiaSik;  5,  The  Beaver, 
Tsotai.  There  were  two,  if  not  more  dialects  spoken  by  ihe 
old  Hurons,  or  Wyandots ;  and  that  of  Hochelaga  probably 
varied  from  any  form  of  the  language  now  surviving.  This 
has  to  be  kept  in  view  in  estimating  the  value  of  the  lists  of 
words  furnished  by  Jacques  Cartier  of  "  le  langage  des  pays  et 
Koyaulmes  de  Hochelaga  et  Canada,  aultrement  appellee  par 
nous  la  nouvelle  France."  '••■' 

Of  the  condition  of  the  region  to  the  west  of  the  Ottawa 
prior  to  the  seventeenth  century  nothing  is  known  from 
direct  observation.  Before  Champlain  had  an  opportunity  of 
visiting  it,  the  whole  region  westward  to  Lake  Huron  had 
been  depopulated  and  reduced  to  a  desert.  The  fact  that  the 
few  natives  found  by  Champlain  occupying  the  once  populous 
region  of  the  Hochelaga  Indians  were  Algonkins,  has  been  the 
chief  ground  for  the  assumption  that  the  expulsion  of  that  old 
Wyandot  stock  was  due  to  their  hostility.  But  such  an  idea 
is  irreconcilable  with  the  fact  that  the  latter,  instead  of 
retreating  southward  to  their  Huron -Iroquois  kinsmen,  took 
refuge  among  Algonkin  tribes.  According  to  the  narrative 
of  their  own  Wyandot  historian,  Peter  Dooyentate,  gathered, 
as  he  tells  us,  from  traditions  that  lived  in  the  memory  of 
a  few  among  the  older  members  of  his  tribe,  the  island  of 
Montreal  was  occupied  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  Wyandots 
or  Hurons,  and  Senecas,  sojourning  peaceably  in  separate 
villages.  The  tradition  is  vague  which  traces  the  cause  of 
their  hostility  to  the  wrath  of  a  Seneca  maiden,  who  had 
been  wronged  by  the  object  of  her  affections,  and  gave  her 
hand  to  a  young  Wyandot  warrior  on  the  condition  of  his 
slaying  the  Seneca  chief,  to  whose  influence  she  ascribed  the 
desertion  of  her  former  lover.  Whatever  probability  may 
attach  to  this  romance  of  the  Indian  lovers,  the  tradition 
that  the  Hurons  were  driven  from  their  ancient  homes  on 
the  St.  Lawrence  by  their  Seneca  kinsmen  is  consistent  with 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE  277 


idea 
I    of 
took 
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may 
adition 
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ascertained  facts,  as  well  as  with  the  later  history  of  the 
Senecas,  who  are  found  playing  the  same  part  to  the  Eries 
under  a  somewhat  similar  incentive  to  revenge,  and  appear  to 
have  taken  the  lead  in  the  destruction  of  the  Attiwendarouks. 
The  native  tradition  is  of  value  in  so  far  as  it  shows  that  the 
fatal  enmity  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  Hurons  was  not  originally 
due  to  the  alliance  of  the  latter  witli  the  French ;  but  Senecas 
and  Hurons  had  alike  disappeared  before  Champlain  visited 
the  scene  of  Cartier's  earlier  exploration.  The  Attiwendarouks, 
who  dwelt  to  the  south  of  the  later  home  of  the  Hurons,  on 
the  shores  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  may  have  formed 
another  of  the  nations  of  the  Wyandot  stock  expelled  from 
tiie  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Situated  as  they  were  in 
their  later  home,  midway  between  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois, 
they  strove  in  vain  to  maintain  a  friendly  neutrality.  Char- 
levoix assigns  the  year  1635  as  the  date  of  their  destruction 
by  the  latter.  Certain  it  is  that  between  that  date  and  the 
middle  of  the  century  their  towns  were  utterly  destroyed ; 
and  such  of  the  survivors  as  lingered  in  the  vicinity  were 
incorporated  into  the  nation  of  the  Senecas,  who  lay  nearest 
to  them. 

The  Eries  were  another  Huron-Iroquois  nation  who  appear 
to  have  persistently  held  aloof  from  the  league.  They  were 
seemingly  a  fiercer  and  more  warlike  people  than  the  Atti- 
wendarouks ;  they  fought  with  poisoned  arrows,  and  were 
esteemed  or  dreaded  as  warriors.  Their  numbers  must  have 
been  considerable,  since  they  were  an  object  of  apprehension 
to  the  nations  of  the  league  whose  western  frontiers  marched 
with  their  own.  They  are  affirmed  by  the  native  historian, 
Cusick,  to  have  sprung  from  the  Senecas ;  but,  if  so,  their 
separation  was  probably  of  remote  date,  as  they  were  both 
numerous  and  powerful.  The  country  which  they  occupied 
was  noted  among  the  French  coureur&  des  hois  for  its  lynx 
furs ;  and  they  gave  accordingly  to  its  people  the  name  of 
"  La  Nation  du  Chat."  Their  ancient  home  is  still  indicated 
in  the  name  of  the  great  lake  beside  which  they  dwelt.  But, 
for  some  unknown  reason,  they  refused  all  alliance  with  the 
Senecas  and  the  league  of  their  Iroquois  kiii,  and  perished  by 
their  violence  within  seven  years  after  the  Huron  country 
was  laid  waste.     "  To  the  Eries,  and  to  the  Neuter  nation," 


■    ,  ,  '-¥"1 


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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:   A  TYPICAL  RACE 


(»r  Attiwendaronks,  says  Sdioolcrat't,  "  according  to  tradition, 
the  Iroquois  offered  the  alternative  of  admission  into  the 
eague  or  extermination ;  and  the  strangeness  of  this  propo- 
sition will  disappear,  when  it  is  remembered  that  an  Indian 
nation  regards  itself  as  at  war  with  all  others  not  in  actual 
alliance."  ^  Peace,  he  adds,  was  the  ultimate  aim  of  the 
founders  of  the  Iroquois  oligarchy ;  and,  for  lovers  of  peace 
on  such  terms  of  supremacy,  the  casus  belli  would  not  be  more 
difficult  to  find  than  it  has  proved  to  be  among  the  most 
Ciiristian  of  kings.  In  the  case  of  the  Eries,  as  of  the  elder 
Wyandots  of  Hochelaga,  the  final  rupture  is  ascribed  to  a 
woman's  implacable  wrath. 

Father  Le  Moyne,  while  on  a  mission  to  the  Onondagas  in. 
1654,  learned  that  the  Iroquois  confederacy  were  excited  to 
fury  against  the  Eries.  A  captive  Onondaga  chief  is  said  to 
have  been  burnt  at  the  stake  after  he  had  been  offered, 
according  to  Indian  custom,  to  one  of  the  Erie  women,  to 
take  the  place  of  her  brother  who  had  been  murdered  while 
on  a  visit  to  the  Senecas.  It  is  a  characteristic  illustration  of 
how  the  feuds  of  ages  were  perpetuated.  The  traditions  of 
the  Iroquois  preserved  little  more  than  the  fact  that  the  Eries 
had  perished  by  their  fury.  But  a  story  told  to  Mr.  Parkman 
by  a  Cayuga  Indian,  only  too  aptly  illustrates  the  hideous 
ferocity  of  their  assailants.  It  represented  that  the  night 
after  the  great  battle  in  which  the  Eries  suffered  their  final 
defeat,  the  forest  was  lighted  up  with  more  than  a  thousand 
fires,  at  each  of  which  an  Erie  was  being  tortured  at  the 
stake.'^  The  number  is  probably  exaggerated.  But  it  is  only 
thus,  as  it  were  in  the  lurid  glare  of  its  torturing  fires,  that  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  this  old  nation  as  it  vanished  from  the 
scene.  Of  the  survivors,  the  greater  number  were  adopted, 
according  to  Indian  fashion,  into  the  Seneca  nation. 

Some  of  the  earthworks  met  with  to  the  south  of  Lake  Erie 
show  proofs  of  greater  constructive  labour  than  anything  found 
ill  Canada.  Still  more  interesting  are  the  primitive  hiero- 
glyphics of  an  inscription  on  Cunningham's  Island,  ascribed  to 
the  Eries,  and  which  Schoolcraft  describes  as  by  far  the  most 
elaborate  work  of  its  class  hithert      •"  und   on  the  continent.^ 


'  League  of  the  Iroqtiois,  p.  76.      ^  The  Jesuits  in  North  America,  p.  441  note. 
^History  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  78. 


THE  HURON-TROnuOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE         279 

But  the  rock  inscription,  though  highly  interesting  as  an 
example  of  native  symbolism  and  pictographic  writing,  throws 
no  light  on  the  history  of  its  carvers ;  and  of  their  language  no 
memorial  is  recoverable,  for  they  had  ceased  to  exidt  before  the 
great  lake  which  perpetuates  their  name  was  known  to  the 
French. 

More  accurate  information  lias  been  preserved  in  reference 
to  the  Hurons,  among  whom  the  Jesuit  Father?  laboured  with 
self-denying  zeal,  from  time  to  time  reporting  the  results 
in  their  Miiations  to  the  Provincial  of  the  Order  at  Paris. 
One  of  the  most  characteristic  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
Hurons  was  the  great  "  Feast  of  the  Dead,"  celebrated  appar- 
ently at  intervals  of  twelve  years,  when  the  remains  of  their 
dead  were  gathered  from  scaffolded  biers,  or  remote  graves,  and 
deposited  amid  general  mourning  in  the  great  cemetery  of  the 
tribe.  Valuable  robes  and  furs,  pottery,  copper  kettles  and 
others  of  tlieir  choicest  possessions,  including  the  pyrulse,  or 
large  tropical  shells  brought  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  with 
wampum,  prized  implements,  and  personal  ornaments,  were  all 
thrown  into  the  great  trench,  v/hich  was  then  solemnly  covered 
over.  By  the  exploration  of  those  Huron  ossuaries,  the  sites 
of  the  palisaded  villages  of  the  Hurons  of  the  seventeenth 
century  have  been  identitted  in  recent  years  ;  and  there  are 
now  preserved  in  the  Laval  University  at  Quebec  upwards  of 
eighty  skulls  recovered  from  cemeteries  at  St.  Ignace,  St. 
Joacbin,  Ste.  Marie,  St.  Michael,  and  other  villages,  the  scenes 
of  self-denying  labour,  and  in  some  cases  of  the  cruel  tortur- 
ings,  of  the  French  missionaries  by  whom  they  were  thus 
designated.  Other  examples  of  skulls  from  the  same  ossuaries, 
I  may  add,  are  now  in  the  Museums  of  the  University  of 
Toronto,  the  London  Anthropological  Society,  and  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes  at  Paris.  The  skulls  recovered  from  those  ossu- 
aries have  a  special  value  from  the  fact  that  the  last  survivors 
were  driven  out  of  the  country  by  their  Iroquois  foes  in  1649  ; 
and  hence  the  crania  recovered  from  them  may  be  relied  upon 
as  fairly  illustrating  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  race 
before  they  had  been  affected  by  intercourse  with  Europeans. 
The  Huron  skull  is  of  a  well-defined  dolichocephalic  type, 
with,  in  many  cases,  an  unusual  prominence  of  the  occipital 
region ;  the  parietal  bones  meet  more  or  less  at  an  angle  at 


•i\  ■« 


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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:   A  TYPICAL  RACE 


,f    :- 


3-  .1 


the  sagittal  suture ;  the  forehead  is  flat  and  receding ;  the 
superciliary  ridges  in  the  male  skulls  are  strongly  developed ; 
the  malar  bones  are  broad  and  Hat,  and  the  ])rofile  is  ortho- 
gnathic. Careful  n)easurements  of  thirty-nine  male  skulls  yield 
a  mean  longitudinal  diameter  of  7".'^9  to  a  parietal  diameter  of 
5"50  ;  and  of  eighteen  female  skulls,  a  longitudinal  diameter 
of  7'07  to  a  parietal  diameter  of  5*22.^ 

Who  were  the  people  found  by  Cartier  in  1535,  seemingly 
long  settled  and  prosperous,  occupying  the  fortified  towns  of 
Stadacon(5  and  Hochelaga,  and  lower  points  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  ?  The  question  is  not  without  a  special  interest  to 
Canadians.  According  to  the  native  Wyandot  historian,  they 
were  Wyandots  or  Hurons,  and  Senecas.  That  they  were 
Huron-Iroquois,  at  any  rate,  and  not  Algonkins,  is  readily 
determined.  We  owe  to  Cartier  two  brief  vocabularies  of  their 
language,  which,  though  obscured  probably  in  their  original 
transcription,  and  corrupted  by  false  transliterations  in  thei^' 
transference  to  the  press,  leave  no  doubt  that  the  people  spoke 
a  Huron -Iroquois  dialect.  To  which  of  the  divisions  it 
belonged  is  not  so  obvious.  The  languages,  in  the  various 
dialects,  differ  only  slightly  in  most  of  the  words  which  Cartier 
gives.  Sometimes  they  agree  with  Huron,  and  sometimes 
with  Iroquois  equivalents.  The  name  of  Hochelaga,  "  at  the 
beaver-dam,"  is  Huron,  and  the  agreement  as  a  whole  prepon- 
derates in  favour  of  a  Huron  rather  than  an  Iroquois  dialect. 
But  there  was  probably  less  difference  between  the  two  then, 
than  at  the  more  recent  dates  of  their  comparison.  In  dealing 
with  this  important  branch  of  philological  evidence,  I  have 
been  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Horatio  Hale, 
for  a  comparative  analysis  of  the  vocabulary  supplied  by 
Cartier,  embodying  the  results  of  long  and  careful  study.  He 
has  familiarised  himself  with  the  Huron  language  by  personal 
intercourse  with  members  of  a  little  band  of  civilised  Wyan- 
dots, settled  on  their  reserve  at  Anderdon,  in  Western  Ontario. 
The  language  thus  preserved  by  them,  after  long  separation 
from  other  members  of  the  widely  scattered  race,  probably 
presents  the  nearest  approximation  to  the  original  forms  of  the 
native  tongue,  as  spoken  on  the  Island  of  Montreal  and  the 
lower  St.  Lawrence.  In  comparing  them  allowance  has  to  be 
^  "  Huron  Race  and  Heaa-form  :  "   Canadian  Journal,  N.  S.,  vol.  xiii.  p.  113. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A   TYPICAL  RACE 


281 


made  for  varieties  of  dialect  among  the  old  occupants  of  the 
lower  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  also  for  the  changes 
wrought  on  the  Huron  language  in  the  lapse  ol  three  and  a 
half  centuries,  not  simply  by  time,  but  also  as  tiie  result  of 
intercourse  and  intermixture  with  other  peoples.  The  habit 
of  recruiting  their  numbers  by  the  adoption  of  prisoners  and 
broken  tribes  could  not  fail  to  exercise  some  influence  on 
the  common  tongue.  The  k  or  hard  [j  of  Cartier  is,  in  the 
Wyandot,  frequently  softened  to  a  y\  and  on  the  other 
hand,  the  n  is  strengthened  by  a  d  sound,  as  in  Cartier's 
pregnant  term  Canada^  the  old  Hochelaga  word  for  a  town, 
which  has  become  in  the  Wyandot  Yandata ;  and  so  in  other 
instances. 

The  revolution  which,  at  the  critical  period  of  the  advent  of 
the  French  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  interval 
of  sixty-eight  years  between  the  visits  of  Cartier  and  Champ- 
lain,  displaced  the  fortified  and  populous  Indian  capital  of 
Hochelaga  and  left  the  surrounding  regions  a  desolate  wilder- 
ness, is  a  mysterious  event.  Had  Champlain  been  curious  to 
learn  the  facts  of  an  occurrence  then  so  recent  there  could 
have  been  little  difficulty  in  recovering  the  history  of  the 
exodus  of  the  Hochelagans.  But  it  had  no  interest  for  the 
French  adventurers  of  that  day.  The  well-fortified  Wyan- 
dot towns  had  given  place  to  a  few  ephemeral  birch-bark 
wigwams  belonging  to  another  race  ;  and  the  readiest  solution 
of  the  mystery  has  been  to  ascribe  the  expulsion  of  the 
Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  from  their  ancient  home  in  Eastern 
Canada,  to  the  Algonkins.  This,  as  already  shown,  is  irre- 
concilable with  the  fact  that  Champlain  found  them  in  friendly 
alliance  with  the  latter  against  their  common  foe,  the  Iroquois. 
If,  however,  the  Wyiidot  tradition  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Hurons  from  the  island  of  Montreal  by  the  Senecas  be 
accepted,  it  is  in  no  degree  inconsistent  with  the  circumstances 
subsequently  reported  by  Champlain ;  but  rather  serves  to 
account  for  some  of  them,  if  it  is  assumed  that  the  Senecas 
were,  in  their  turn,  driven  out  by  the  Algonkins,  and  then 
finally  withdrew  beyond  the  St.  Lawrence. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  evidence  bearing  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  affinities  of  the  people  first  met  with  by  Cartier  in 
1535,  which  also  has  its  value  here.     The  descriptions  of  the 


5f :  '-^ 


:r 


THE  HUROr^' IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

palisaded  towns  of  the  Huroiis  on  the  Geoi^ian  Jiay  very 
accurately  reproduce  that  which  Cartier  <,'ive3  of  Hochela^'a. 
Ephemeral  as  such  fortifications  necessarily  were,  the  construc- 
tion of  a  rampart  formed  of  a  triple  row  of  trunks  of  trees, 
surmounted  with  galleries,  from  whence  to  hurl  stones  and 
tther  missiles  on  their  assailants,  was  a  formidable  und(!r- 
taking  for  builders  provided  with  no  better  tools  than  stone 
hatchets,  and  with  no  other  means  of  transport  than  their 
united  labour  supplied.  But  the  design  had  the  advantage  of 
funiishing  a  self-supporting  wall,  and  so  of  saving  the  greater 
labour  of  digging  a  trench,  with  such  inadequate  tools,  in  soil 
penetrated  everywhere  with  the  roots  of  forest  trees.  It  was 
the  Huron-Iroquois  system  of  military  engineering,  in  which 
they  contrasted  favourably  with  the  Algonkins,  among  whom 
the  absence  of  such  evidence  of  settled  habits  as  those  secure 
defences  supplied,  was  characteristic  of  these  ruder  nonuids. 
But  such  urban  fortifications  no  less  strikingly  contrast  with 
the  elaborate  and  enduring  military  earthworks  to  the  south  of 
the  great  lakes.  The  pottery  and  implements  found  on  the 
site  of  Hochelaga  are  of  the  same  character  as  many  examples 
recovered  from  the  Huron  ossuaries.  On  the  other  hand  the 
peculiar  rites,  of  which  those  ossuaries  are  the  enduring 
memorials,  appear  to  have  distinguished  the  western  Hurons 
from  the  older  settlers  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  great  Feast 
of  the  Dead,  with  its  recurrent  solemnities,  when  after  the 
lapse  of  years  tiie  remains  of  their  dead  were  exhumed,  or 
removed  from  their  scaffold  biers,  was  the  most  characteristic 
religious  ceremonial  of  the  Hurons ;  and  was  practised  with 
still  more  revolting  rites  by  the  kindred  Attiwendaronks. 
Festering  dead  bodies  were  kept  in  their  dwellings,  preparatory 
to  scraping  the  Hesh  from  tlieir  l)ones ;  and  the  decaying 
remains  of  recently  buried  corpses  were  exhumed  for  reinter- 
ment in  the  great  trench,  which  was  prepared  with  enormous 
labour,  and  furnished  with  the  most  lavish  expenditure  of 
prized  furs,  wampum,  and  other  possessions. 

In  all  ages  and  states  of  society  unavailing  sorrow  has  tempted 
the  survivors  to  extravagant  excesses  in  the  effort  to  do  honour 
to  the  loved  dead ;  and  sumptuary  laws  have  been  repeatedly 
enacted  to  restrain  such  demonstrations  within  reasonable 
bounds.      Tlie  Book  of  Rites  suffices  to  suggest  that  the  ancient 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE         283 

funeral  rites  of  the  Iroijuois  were  of  the  same  revoltin«»  iind 
wasteful  character,  until  their  mythic  reformer,  Hiawatha, 
superseded  them  with  a  simpler  symbolical  funeral  service. 
"  1  have  spoken  of  the  solemn  event  which  has  befallen  you," 
are  the  introductory  words  to  the  thirteenth  paragrapii  of  "  The 
CondolinjT  Council,"  and  it  thus  proceeds :  "  Every  day  you 
are  losing  your  great  men.  They  are  being  borne  into  the 
earth ;  also  the  warriors,  and  also  your  women,  and  also  your 
grandchildren  ;  so  that  in  the  midst  of  blood  you  are  sitting."  It 
is  therefore  enacted,  in  the  twenty-seventh  paragraph,  evidently 
in  lieu  of  older  practices  :  "  This  shall  be  done.  We  will  sus- 
pend a  pouch  upon  a  pole,  and  will  place  in  it  some  mourning 
wampum,  some  short  strings,  to  be  taken  to  the  place  where 
the  loss  was  suffered.  Tlie  bearer  will  enter,  and  will  stand 
by  the  hearth,  and  will  speak  a  few  words  to  comfort  those 
who  will  be  mourning ;  and  then  they  will  be  comforted,  and 
will  conform  to  the  great  law." 

A  string  of  black  wampum  sent  round  the  settlement  is  still, 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  notice  of  the  death 
of  a  chief,  as  a  belt  of  black  wanipun;  was  a  declaration  of 
war.  It  seems  not  improbable  that  the  people  of  Stadacon6 
and  Hochelaga  had  submitted  to  the  wise  social  and  religious 
reforms  by  which  the  ancient  rites  of  their  dead  were  super- 
seded by  the  symbolism  of  the  mourning  wampum,  and  hence 
the  absence  of  ossuaries  throughout  the  island  of  Montreal  and 
the  whole  region  to  th  )  east.  But  when  the  fugitive  "VV  ndots 
Hed  into  the  wilderness,  and  reared  new  homes  around  'ke 
Simcoe  and  in  the  western  peninsula,  they  may  have  revj  d 
traditional  usages  ot  their  fathers,  and  resumed  rites  which  h:id 
been  reluctantly  abandoned.  Among  the  civilised  Indians  of 
the  Six  Nations  some  memorials  of  their  ancestral  rites  of  the 
dead  still  survive.  A  visitor  to  the  reserve  at  the  time  of  the 
death  of  a  late  highly  esteemed  chief  told  me  that  on  the  event 
being  known  it  was  immediately  responded  to  by  all  within 
hearing  by  the  prolonged  utterance,  in  a  mournful  tone,  of  the 
cry  Kxoi,  and  this,  passing  from  station  to  station,  spread  the 
news  of  their  loss  throughout  the  reserve.  Nearly  the  same 
sound,  uttered  in  a  quicker  note,  Quaig !  is  the  salutation  among 
the  Hurons  of  Lorette. 

The  later  history  of  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois  is  not  without 


.    '* 


u^ 


:'  .     ■; 


284 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


its  special  interest.  One  little  band,  the  Hurons  of  Lorette, 
the  representatives  of  the  refugees  from  the  massacre  of  1648, 
has  lingered  till  our  own  day  in  too  close  proximity  to  the 
French  habitants  of  Quebec  to  preserve  in  purity  the  blood  of 
the  old  race.  But  great  as  are  the  alterations  which  time  and 
intermixture  with  the  white  race  have  effected,  they  still 
retain  many  intellectual  as  well  as  physical  traits  of  their 
original  stock  after  an  interval  of  two  h'.mdred  and  thirty-six 
years,  during  which  intimate  intercourse,  and  latterly  frequent 
intennarriage  '"'ith  those  of  European  blood,  have  wrought 
inevitable  change  on  the  race.^  Other  more  vigorous  repre- 
sentatives of  the  old  Huron  stock  occupy  a  small  reservation 
in  the  Township  of  Anderdon,  in  Western  Ontario,  from  whom 
the  vocabulary  was  derived  which  furnislied  a  test  of  the 
language  of  the  Hochelagans  in  the  sixteenth  century.  But 
the  Hurons  of  Lorette  have  also  preserved  their  native  tongue ; 
and  an  ample  vocabulary  ^  of  the  older  form  of  their  language 
survives.  A  third  modification  of  the  ancient  tongue  no  doubt 
exists  ;  for  the  larger  remnant  of  the  survivors  of  the  Hurons, 
after  repeated  wanderings,  is  now  settled,  far  from  the  native 
home  of  the  race,  on  reserves  conceded  to  them  by  the  American 
Government  in  Kansas, 

The  Hurons  have  thus,  for  the  most  part,  disappeared  from 
Canada ;  but  it  is  not  without  interest  to  note  that  the  revolu- 
tion which,  upwards  of  a  century  ago,  severed  the  connection 
of  the  old  colonies  to  the  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  with  the 
region  to  the  north,  restored  to  Canada  its  ancient  Iroquois. 
This  race  of  savage  warriors  acquired  the  mastery  of  a  region 
equal  in  extent  to  Central  Europe ;  and  by  a  system  of  war- 
fare, not,  after  all,  more  inherently  barbarous  or  recklessly 
bloody  than  that  of  Europe's  Grand  Monarch,  reconstructed  the 
social  and  political  map  of  the  continent  east  of  the  Mississippi. 
Their  influence  acquired  a  novel  importance  when,  in  tlie 
seemingly  insignificant  rivalries  of  French  and  English  fur- 
traders,  they   practically  determined    the    balance    of   power 


^  "Some  American  Illustrations  of  the  Evolution  of  new  Varieties  of  Man," 
Journal  of  Anthropology,  May  1879. 

^  The  Huron  vocabulary  prepared  by  the  Jesuli  Father,  Chaumonot,  is,  as  I 
have  recently  learned,  still  in  existence,  and  will,  I  hope,  be  e  oedily  published 
under  trustworthy  editorial  supervision. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A   TYPICAL  RACE  285 

between  the  two  foremost  nations  of  Europe  on  this  continent. 
Their  indomitable  pertinacity  proved  more  than  a  match  alike 
for    European    diplomacy  and    military  skill ;    and,  as   they 
maintained  an  uncompromising   hostility  to  the  French  at  a 
time  when  the  rival  colonists  were  nearly  equally  balanced,  the 
failure   of  the  magnificent   schemes   of  Louis  XIV.  and  his 
succpfcsors  to  establish  in  North  America  such  a  supremacy  as 
Charles  V  and  Philip  II.  had  held  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  is 
largely  traceable   to  them.      It   is   natural  that  the   Anglo- 
American  student  of  history  should  estimate  highly  the  polity 
of  savage  warriors  who  thus  foiled  the  schemes  of  one  of  the 
most  powerful  monarchies  of  Europe  for  the  mastery  of  this 
continent.     The  late  Hon.  I-.  H.  Morgan  thus  writes  of  them : 
"  They  achieved  for  themselves  a  more  remarkable  civil  organ- 
isation, and  acquired  a  higher  degree  of  influence,  than  any 
other  race  of  Indian  lineage  except  those  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 
Ii3  the  drama  of  European  colonisation  they  stood,  for  nearly 
two  centuries,  with  an  unshaken  front  against  the  devastations 
of  war,  the  blighting  influence  of  foreign  intercourse,  and  the 
still  more   fatal   encroachments  of  a  restless   and   advancing 
border  population.     Under  their  federal  system  the  Iroquois 
flourished  in  independence,  and  capable  of  self-protection,  long 
after  the  New  England  and  Virginia  races  had  surrendered 
their  jurisdictions,  and  fallen  into  the  condition  of  dependent 
nations ;  and  they  now  stand  forth  upon  the  canvas  of  Indian 
history,  prominent  alike  for  the  wisdom  of  their  civil  institu- 
tions, their  sagacity  in   the  administration  of  the  league,  and 
their   courage  in   its  defence."  ^     But  in  this  their  historian 
applies  to  the  Iroquois  a  European  standard,  similar  to  that 
by  which  Prescott  unconsciously  magnified  Mexican  barbarism 
into   a  rivalry  with  the   contemporary  civilisation   of   Spain. 
The  romance  attached  to  the  Hodenosauneega,  or  Kononsionni, 
the  famous  league  of  the  Long  House  or  United  Households, 
more  truly  derives  its  chief  interest  and  value  from  the  fact 
that  its  originators  remained  to  the  last  savages.     It  is,  at  any 
rate,  important  to  keep  this  fact  in  view,  and  to  interpret  the 
significance  of  the   league  in  that  light.     When  the  treaty 
which  initiated  it  was  entered  into  by  the  Caniengas  and  the 
Oneidas,  they  were  both  in  that  primitive  stage  of  unsophisti- 
^  The  League  yf  the  Iroquois,  p.  2. 


»-'jS 


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THE  HURON-IRQQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


«  * 


cated  barbarism  to  which  the  term  "  Stone  Period  "  has  been 
applied.  In  the  absence  of  all  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  their 
implements  and  weapons  were  alike  simple  and  rude.  Agri- 
culture, under  such  conditions,  must  have  been  equally  primi- 
tive ;  and  as  for  their  wars,  when  they  were  not  defensive,  they 
appear  to  have  had  no  higher  aim  than  revenge.  Gallatin,  no 
unappreciative  witness,  says  of  them  :  "  The  history  of  the  Five 
Nations  is  calculated  to  give  a  favourable  opinion  of  the 
intelligence  of  the  Eed  Man.  But  they  may  be  ranked  among 
the  worst  of  conquerors.  They  conquered  only  in  order  to 
destroy,  and,  it  would  seem,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying 
their  thirst  for  blood.  Towards  the  south  and  the  west  they 
made  a  perfect  desert  of  the  whole  country  within  500  miles 
of  their  seats.  A  much  greater  number  of  those  Indians, 
who  since  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century  have 
perished  by  the  sword  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  have 
been  destroyed  by  that  single  nation  than  in  all  their  wars  with 
the  Europeans."  ^ 

To  cha.acterise  the  combination  effected  among  such  tribes 
as  one  presenting  elements  of  wise  civil  institutions ;  or  indeed 
to  introduce  such  terms  as  league  and  federal  system,  in  tlie 
sense  in  which  they  have  been  repeatedly  employed,  as  though 
they  referred  to  a  confederation  akin  to  those  of  the  ancient 
Achaeans  or  ^tolians,  is  to  suggest  associations  altogether  mis- 
leading. Though  an  interesting  phase  of  American  savage  life, 
to  which  its  long  duration  gives  a  marked  significance,  the 
Iroquois  league  was  by  no  means  unique ;  though  it  was  the 
oldest,  and  may  have  been  the  model  on  which  others  were 
framed.  The  Creek  confederacy  embraced  numerous  tribes 
between  the  Mobile,  Alabama,  and  Savannah  rivers,  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  At  the  head  of  it  were  the  Muskhogees,  a 
numerous  and  powerful,  but  wholly  savage  race  of  hunters. 
Like  the  Oneidas,  Onandagas,  and  the  still  older  Wyandots, 
they  and  the  Choctaws  claimed  to  be  autochthones.  The 
Muskhogees  appealed  to  a  tradition  of  their  ancestors  that  they 
issued  from  a  cave  near  the  Alabama  river  ;  while  the  Choctaws 
pointed  to  the  frontier  region  between  them  and  the  Chicasaws, 
where,  as  they  affirmed,  they  suddenly  emerged  from  a  hole  in 
the  earth,  a  numerous  and  mighty  people.      The  system  of 

^  Archccologia  Americayw,,  vol.  ii.  p.  79. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


287 


governmeat  amongst  the  members  of  this  southern  confederacy 
seems  to  have  borne  considerable  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
Iroquois ;  if  it  wcs  not  borrowed  from  it.  Every  village  was 
the  centre  of  an  independent  tribe  or  nation,  with  its  own 
chief ;  and  the  restraints  imposed  on  the  individual  members, 
except  when  co-operating  in  some  special  enterprioe  or  religious 
ceremonial,  appear  to  have  been  slight. 

Mr.  Hale  has  shown  that  the  language  of  the  Cherokees 
lias  a  grammar  mainly  Huron-Iroquois,  and  a  vocabulary  largely 
recruited  from  some  foreign  source.  From  this  he  infers  that 
one  portion  of  the  conquered  AUiguwi,  while  the  conflict  still 
lasted,  may  have  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  conquering  race, 
just  as  the  Tlascalans  did  with  the  Spaniards  in  their  war 
against  the  Aztecs,  and  hence  the  origin  of  the  great  Cherokee 
nation.  The  fugitive  AUiguwi,  he  surmises,  may  have  fled 
down  the  Mississippi  till  they  reached  the  country  of  the 
Choctaws,  themselves  a  mound -building  people;  aud  to  the 
alliance  of  the  two  he  would  thus  trace  the  difference  in  the 
language  of  the  latter  from  that  of  their  eastern  kindred,  the 
Creeks  or  Muskhogees.^  On  the  assumption  of  such  a  com- 
bination of  ethnical  elements,  the  origin  of  the  Creek  confederacy 
is  easily  accounted  for.  It  is  to  this  same  element  of  language 
that  we  have  to  revert  for  guidance  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
history  of  this  remarkable  race.  It  would  be  an  evasion  of  the 
most  essential  evidence  on  which  any  reliable  conclusions  must 
be  based,  if  the  fact  were  overlooked  that  the  Iroquois  never 
emerged  beyond  the  primitive  stage  of  the  Stone  period. 
Nevertheless  in  one  element  of  intellectual  development  their 
progress  had  been  great.  Each  nation  of  the  Iroquois  league 
had  its  chief,  to  whom  pertained  the  right  of  kindling  the 
symbolic  council -fire,  and  of  taking  the  lead  in  all  public 
assemblies.  When  the  representative  chiefs  of  the  nations 
gathered  in  the  Long  House  around  the  common  council-fire 
of  the  league,  it  \7as  no  less  necessary  that  they  should  be  able 
and  persuasive  speakers  than  brave  warriors,  llhetoric  was 
cultivated  in  the  council-house  of  the  Iroquois  no  less  earnestly 
than  in  the  Athenian  ekklesia  or  the  Koman  forum.  Acute 
reasoning  and  persuasive  eloquence  demanded  all  the  discrimin- 
ating refinements  of  grammar,  and  the  choice  of  terms  which  an 

^  Indian  Migrations,  p.  22. 


•J  . 

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288 


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TT/^-  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


ample  vocabulary  supplies.  The  holophrastic  element  has  been 
noted  as  a  peculiar  characteristic  of  American  languages.  The 
word -sentences  tlnis  constructed  not  only  admitted  of,  but 
encouraged,  an  elaborate  nicety  of  discrimination ;  while  the 
marked  tendency  of  the  process,  so  far  as  the  language  itself  is 
concerned,  was  to  absorb  all  other  parts  in  the  verb.  Time, 
place,  manner,  aim,  purpose,  degree,  and  all  the  other  modifica- 
tions of  language  are  combined  polysynthetically  with  the  root. 
Nouns  are  to  a  large  extent  verbal  forms;  and  not  only  nouns 
and  adjectives,  but  adverbs  and  prepositions,  are  regularly  con- 
jugated. Elaborated  polysyllables,  flexibly  modified  by 
systematic  internal  changes,  give  expression,  in  one  compounded 
word-sentence,  to  every  varying  phase  of  intricate  reasoning  or 
emotion;  and  the  complex  structure  shows  the  g/owth  of  a 
language  in  habitual  use  for  higher  purposes  than  the  mere 
daily  wants  of  life.  The  vocabulary  in  use  in  some  rural  dis- 
tricts in  England  has  been  found  to  include  less  than  three 
hundred  words ;  and  in  provincial  dialects,  thus  restricted,  the 
refinements  of  grammatical  expression  disappear.  Among  such 
rustic  communities  speech  plays  a  very  subordinate  part  in  the 
business  of  life.  But  upon  the  deliberations  of  the  Indian 
council-house  depended  the  whole  action  of  the  confederacy. 
Hence,  while  in  all  else  the  Iroquois  remained  an  untutored 
savage,  his  language  is  a  marvelloiisly  systematised  and  beauti- 
ful structure,  well  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  intricate 
reasoning  and  persuasive  subtlety. 

Professor  Whitney  says,  in  reference  to  American  languages 
generally,  what  may  more  especially  be  applied  to  the  Huron- 
Iroquois  :  "  There  are  infinite  possibilities  of  expressiveness  in 
such  a  structure ;  and  it  would  only  need  that  some  native - 
American  Greek  race  should  arise,  to  fill  it  full  of  thought  and 
fancy,  and  put  it  to  the  uses  of  a  noble  literature,  and  it  would 
be  rightly  admired  as  rich  and  flexible,  perhaps  beyond  anything 
else  that  the  world  knew."^  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Iroquois  dispense  with  the  whole  labials,  never  articulate  with 
their  lips,  and  throw  entirely  aside  from  their  alphabetical  series 
of  phonetics  six  of  those  most  constantly  in  use  by  us. 

In  this  direction,  then,  lies  an  ethnologica'L  problem  which 
cannot  fail  to  awaken  ever-increasing  interest.     To  the  native 


Life  and  Growth  of  Lang^uage,  p.  261. 


n 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


289 


iguages 
iHurou- 
sness  in 
native- 
rht  and 
would 
lything 
id,  the 
ite  with 
l1  series 

which 
native 


languages  of  the  New  World  we  must  look  for  a  true  key  to 
the  solution  of  some  of  the  most  curious  and  difficult  questions 
involved  in  the  peopling  of  the  continent.  "  There  lies  before 
us,"  says  Professor  Whitney,  "  a  vast  and  complicated  problem 
in  the  American  races ;  and  it  is  their  language  that  must  do 
by  far  the  greatest  part  of  the  work  in  solving  it." 

Of  the  languages  of  the  Huron- Iroquois,  the  Huron  appears 
to  be  the  oldest,  if  not  the  parent  stock.  When  this  aggressive 
race  had  spread,  as  conquerors,  far  to  the  south  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  mother  nation  appears  to  have  held  on  to  the 
cradle-land  of  the  race,  where  its  representatives  were  found 
still  in  possession  when  the  first  European  explorers  entered 
the  St.  Lawrence.  Colonists,  of  French  or  English  origin,  have 
been  in  more  or  less  intimate  intercourse  with  them  ever  aince, 
yet  the  materials  for  any  satisfactory  study  of  the  Huron 
language,  or  of  a  comparison  between  it  and  the  various 
Iroquois  dialects,  are  still  scanty  and  very  inadequate.  The 
languages  of  the  Five  Nations  that  originally  constituted  the 
members  of  the  Iroquois  league,  are,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
term,  dialects.  In  their  council-house  on  the  Grand  river,  the 
chiefs  of  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onandagas,  Cayugas,  and 
Senecas,  speak  each  in  their  own  language  and  need  no  inter- 
preter. Nevertheless,  the  differences  are  considerable ;  and  a 
Seneca  would  scarcely  find  the  language  of  a  Mohawk  intelli- 
gible to  him  in  ordinary  conversation.  But  the  separation  of 
the  Tuscaroras  from  the  Iroquois  on  the  Mohawk  river  had 
been  of  long  duration,  and  their  language  differs  much  more 
widely  from  the  others. 

The  Mohawk  language  was  adopted  at  an  early  date  for 
communicating  with  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations.  The  New 
Englaad  Company,  established  in  1649,  under  favour  of  the 
Lord  Piotector,  Cromwell,  "  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  New  England,"  was  revived  on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II. 
under  a  royal  charter ;  and  with  the  eminent  philosopher, 
Kobert  Boyle,  as  its  first  governor,  vigorous  steps  were  taken 
for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Indians.  The  correspondence 
of  Eliot,  "  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians,"  with  the  first  governor 
of  the  Company,  is  marked  by  their  anxiety  for  the  completion 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bible,  which,  along  with  other  books,  he 
had  translated  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  of  New  England. 

U 


;....:  .ii(f.. 


%      V 


290 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A   TYPICAL  RACE 


I 


The  silver  Communion  Service,  still  preserved  at  the  reserve  on 
the  Grand  river,  presented  to  the  ancestors  of  the  Mohawk 
nation  by  Queen  Anne,  is  an  interesting  memorial  of  the  early 
efforts  for  their  Christianisation.  It  bears  the  inscription : 
"  A.  R,  1711.  The  Gift  of  Her  Majesty,  by  the  Grace  of 
God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  and  of  her 
Plantations  in  North  America,  Queen  :  to  her  Indian 
Chappel  of  the  Mohawks,"  The  date  has  a  special  interest  in 
evidence  of  the  transforming  influences  already  at  work ;  for  it 
was  not  till  three  years  later  that  the  Tuscaroras  were  received 
into  the  confederation,  and  the  Iroquois  became  known  by  their 
later  appellation  as  the  Six  Nation  Indians.  In  accordance 
with  the  efforts  indicated  by  the  royal  gift,  lepeated  steps  were 
taken  for  translating  the  Scriptures  and  the  Prayer-Book  into 
their  language.  In  a  letter  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Stuart,  missionary 
to  the  Six  Nations,  dated  1771,  he  describes  his  introduction 
to  Captain  Brant  at  the  Mohawk  village  of  Cana,ioharie,  and 
the  aid  received  from  him  in  revising  the  Indian  Prayer-Book, 
and  in  translating  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  into  the  Mohawk  language.  The  breaking  out  of  the 
revolutionary  war  arrested  the  printing  of  these  translations. 
The  manuscripts  were  brought  to  Canada  in  1781,  and  placed 
in  the  hands  of  Colonel  Clause,  the  Deputy  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs.  This  gentleman  subsequently  carried  them  to 
England,  where  they  were  at  length  printed.  A  more  recent 
edition  of  the  Mohawk  Prayer-Book,  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Nelles,  a  missionary  of  the  New 
England  Company,  with  the  aid  of  a  native  catechist,  issued 
from  the  Canadian  press  in  1842.  The  Indian  text  is  accom- 
panied with  its  English  equivalent  on  the  opposite  page,  and 
this  Kaghyddovhsera  ne  Yoedereanayeadagwha,  or  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  is  still  in  use  in  the  religious  services  of 
the  Six  Nation  Indians  at  their  settlement  on  the  Grand 
river. 

Some  characteristics  of  the  language,  such  as  the  absence  of 
labials,  constitute  not  only  a  distinctive  difference  from  the 
old  Huron  speech,  but  afford  proof  of  the  latter  being  the  older 
form,  "  It  is  a  fact,"  says  Professor  Max  Mliller,  in  referring 
to  his  intercourse  with  an  intelligent  native  Mohawk,  then  a 
student  at  Oxford,  "  that  the  Mohawks  never,  either  as  infants 


..iL 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TV  PICA  l.  RACE 


291 


or  as  grown-up  people,  articulate  with  their  lips.  They  have 
no  p,  b,  m,  f,  V,  w — no  labials  of  any  kind."  ^  The  statement, 
so  far  as  the  Mohawk  infants  are  concerned,  is  open  to  further 
inquiry ;  but  Dr.  Oronhyatekha,  the  Mohawk  referred  to,  who 
pursued  his  studies  for  a  time  in  the  University  of  Toronto,  and 
to  whom  I  have  been  largely  indebted  in  this  and  other 
researches  in  Indian  philology,  not  only  rejects  the  six  letters 
already  named,  bat  also  c,  g,  I,  z.  The  alphabet  is  thus  reduced 
to  seventeen  letters.  Professor  Max  Miiller  notes  in  passing, 
that  the  name  "  Mohawk  "  would  seem  to  prove  the  use  of  the 
labial.  But  it  is  of  tbreign  origin,  though  possibly  derived  from 
their  own  term  :  oegwehokough,  "  people."  The  name  employed 
by  themselves  is  "  Canienga."  The  practice  of  speaking  with- 
out ever  closing  the  lips  is  an  acquired  habit  of  later  origin 
than  the  forms  of  the  parent  tongue.  A  comparison  of  any  of 
the  Iroquois  dialects  with  the  Huron  as  still  spoken  by  the 
Wyandots  of  Ontario,  shows  the  m  in  use  by  the  latter  in  what 
is  no  doubt  a  surviving  example  of  the  oldest  form  of  the 
Huron-Iroquois  language.  This  Huron  m  frequently  becomes 
w  in  the  Iroquois  dialects,  e.g.  sJcatamendjaweh,  "  one  hundred," 
becomes  in  Mohawk  unskadewennyaweh ;  rume,  "  man,"  Mohawk, 
ronkwe,  etc.  These  and  other  examples  of  this  interchangeable 
characteristic  of  Indian  phonology,  and  the  process  of  substitu- 
tion in  the  absence  of  labials,  are  illustrated  in  the  table  of 
Huron-Iroquois  numerals  on  the  following  page.  The  habit  of 
invariably  speaking  with  the  lips  open  is  the  source  of  very 
curious  modifications  in  the  Iroquois  vocabularies  when  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  Wyandots.  The  m  gives  place  to  w, 
nw,  nh,  or  nhu ;  also  to  ku  and  nhn,  and  so  frequently  changes 
the  whole  character  of  the  word  by  the  modifications  it  gives 
rise  to. 

A  comparison  of  the  numerals  of  cognate  languages  and 
dialects  is  always  instructive ;  and  with  the  growing  disposition 
of  American  philologists  to  turn  to  the  Basques,  as  the  only 
prehistoric  race  of  Europe  that  has  perpetuated  the  language 
of  an  Allophylian  stock  with  possible  analogies  to  the  native 
languages  of  America,  their  numerals  may  be  placed  alongside 
of  those  of  the  Huron-Iroquois.  The  permanency  of  the  names 
for  numerals,  and  their  freedom  from  displacement  by  synonyms, 
'  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,  2nd  series,  p.  162. 


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are  seen  in  the  universality  of  one  series  of  names  throughout 
the  whole  ancient  and  modem  Aryan  languages  of  Asia  and 
Europe.  But  the  Basque  numerals  bear  little  or  no  resemblance 
to  either,  unless  such  can  be  traced  in  the  hi,  "  two,"  and  the  set, 
"  six,"  as  in  the  asietn,  "  ten  "  {decern),  of  the  old  Hochelaga,  the 
aJisen  of  the  later  Wyandots.  The  cAim  of  the  Basque  has 
also  its  remote,  and  probably  accidental  resemblance ;  but  the 
milla,  "one  thousand,"  is  certainly  borrowed,  and  serves  to 
show  that  the  higher  numerals,  with  the  evidence  they  afford 
of  advancing  civilisation,  were  the  result  of  intrusive  Aryan 
influences  in  the  natives  of  the  Iberian  peninsula.  With  the 
growing  tendency  to  turn  to  the  prehistoric  Iberians  of  Europe 
for  one  possible  key  to  the  origin  of  the  races  and  languages 
of  America,  it  is  well  to  keep  this  test  in  view  for  comparison 
with  the  widely  varying  native  numerals.  But  the  correspond- 
ence is  slight,  even  with  probable  Turanian  congeners.  One 
Biscayan  form  of  "  three,"  hirtin,  is  not  unlike  the  Magyar 
harom;  while  the  eyg,  "one,"  of  the  latter,  seems  to  find  its 
counterpart  in  the  inseparable  particle  that  transforms  the 
Basque  radical  ham,  "  ten,"  into  the  hamaika,  "  eleven."  But 
such  fragmentary  traces  are  in  striking  contrast  to  the  radical 
agreement  of  Sanskrit,  Zend,  Greek,  Latin,  Celtic,  Slavonic,  and 
Teutonic  numerals.  Mr.  Hale  has  drawn  my  attention  to  the 
curious  manner  in  which  the  names  of  the  first  five  Hochelaga 
numerals  in  Cartier's  list  are  contracted  and  strengthened  in 
the  modern  Wyandot;  and  some  of  the  modifications  in  the 
Iroquois  dialects  are  no  loss  interesting.  Secata,  the  Hochelaga 
"  one,"  survives  in  the  Onondaga  skadah,  while  it  becomes  skat 
in  the  modern  Huron,  the  Cayuga,  and  the  Seneca.  But  in 
the  compounded  form  of  the  Wyandot  "  one  hundred,"  skata- 
mendjawe,  as  in  the  Onondaga  skadahdewennyachweh,  the  terminal 
a  reappears.  Tigneny,  the  old  form  of  "  two,"  is  abridged  and 
strengthened  to  tendi ;  asche,  "three"  (originally,  in  all  prob- 
ability, aschen,  or,  as  still  in  use  by  the  Hurons  of  Lorette,  achin), 
survives  as  ahsunh  or  ahsenh  in  nearly  all  the  Iroquois  dialects, 
including  the  Tuscarora.  In  the  Nottoway  it  is  still  discernible 
in  the  modified  arsa.  The  exceptions  are  the  Seneca,  where 
it  becomes  sen,  while  one  "Wyandot  form  is  shenk ;  which 
reappears  in  the  Seneca  compounded  form  of  "  thirty,"  shenk- 
washen.     Honnacon,  "  four,"  loses  both  its  initial  and  terminal 


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TNE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


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syllables,  and  becomes  dah  in  the  Wyandot,  and  htxh  or  A:ci,  an 
abbreviation  of  the  Mohawk  kayerih,  in  the  Cayuga  and  the 
Seneca  dialects.  The  ancient  form  of  "  five,"  ouiscon,  lins 
partially  survived  in  the  Huron  ouisch.  It  becomes  wisk, 
whisk,  wish,  or  (in  the  Seneca)  wis,  in  all  the  Iroquois  dialects, — 
the  Wyandot  and  Cayuga  once  more  agreeing  in  form.  The 
ayaga,  "  seven,"  of  the  old  Hochelaga,  nearly  resembles  the 
jadah  of  several  of  the  Iroquois  dialects,  as  in  the  Cayuga 
jadak,  in  the  Tuscarora  janah,  and  in  the  Nottoway  oyag ; 
whereas  in  the  Wyandot  it  is  tsotare.  The  adigue,  "  eij^'ht,"  in 
its  oldest  form  is  sadekonh  in  the  Mohawk,  and  dekrunh  in  tlie 
Cayuga ;  with  the  substitution  of  the  /  for  r  it  becomes  deklonh 
in  the  Oneida;  and  after  changing  to  tekion  in  the  Seneca,  and 
nagronh  in  the  Tuscarora,  it  reappears  in  the  Nottoway  as 
dekra.  The  ancient  madellon,  "nine,"  curiously  survives  in 
abridged  form,  with  the  substitute  for  the  labial,  in  the  Oneida 
wadlonh  and  the  Onondaga  wadonh,  while  one  Wyandot  form 
is  eiitron,  and  that  of  the  Hurons  of  Lorette  entson.  In  the 
Hochelaga  assem,  "  ten,"  we  have  the  old  form  which  is  perpetu- 
ated in  the  Wyandot  ahsen,  the  Onondaga  and  Cayuga  waa^  ah, 
the  Tuscarora  wasunh,  and  the  Nottoway  washa ;  while  tlie 
Mohawk  and  the  Oneida  have  the  diverse  oyerih,  or  oyelih,  with 
the  characteristic  change  of  r  into  I.  The  form  of  the  Mohawk 
for  "  one  thousand,"  oyerihnadewunnyaweh,  is  an  interesting 
illustration  of  the  progressive  development  of  numbers.  Na  is 
probably  a  contraction  of  nikonh,  "  of  them,"  or  "  oi  it," — the 
whole  reading  "  of  them  ten  hundred." 

In  comparing  the  languages  of  the  different  members  of  the 
Iroquois  confederacy  with  the  Wyandot  or  Huron,  some  of  the 
facts  already  noted  in  the  history  of  the  former  have  to  be 
kept  in  view.  Two  aud  a  half  centuries  have  transpired  since 
the  three  western  nations  of  the  confederacy,  the  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas  received  great  additions  to  their  numbers 
by  the  successive  adoption  of  Attiwendaronk,  Huron,  and  Erie 
captives,  while  thj  Caniengas,  or  Mohawks,  and  the  Oneidas 
remained  unaffecced  by  such  intrusions.  There  is  direct  evidence 
that  the  Onondaga  language  has  undergone  great  change ;  as 
a  Jesuit  dictionary  of  the  seventeenth  century  exists  which 
shows  a  much  nearer  resemblance  between  the  Mohawk  and 
Onondaga  languages  at  that  date  than  now  appears.     Allow- 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


295 


ance  must  be  made  for  similar  changes  afl'ecting  the  Hurons 
in  their  enforced  migration  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  thcit 
hiter  homes.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other  instances,  it  becomes 
interesting  to  note  how  the  language  of  a  people  reflects  its 
history. 

In  tracing  out  slighter  and  more  remote  resemblances,  such 
us  may  be  discerned  on  a  close  scrutiny,  where  the  variation 
between  the  Hochelaga  and  the  modern  Wyandot  numerals  is 
widest,  the  different  sources  of  change  have  to  be  kept  in  view. 
In  all  such  comparisons,  moreover,  allowance  must  be  made  for 
the  phonetic  reproduction  of  unfamiliar  words  learned  solely  by 
ear,  as  well  as  for  the  peculiar  representation  of  the  nasal 
sounds  in  their  reduction  to  writing  by  a  French  or  English 
transcriber. 

The  tradition,  mentioned  by  Dooyentate,  of  Senecas  and 
Wyandots  living  in  friendly  contiguity  on  the  Island  of 
Montreal  in  the  sixteenth  century,  naturally  suggests  the 
probability  that  their  dialects  did  not  greatly  differ.  Certain 
noticeable  resemblances  between  the  Seneca  and  the  Wyandot 
numerals  have  been  noted  above,  but  it  is  only  their  modern 
forms  that  are  thus  open  to  comparison;  and  in  the  process  of 
phonetic  decay  the  Seneca  has  suffered  the  greatest  change. 
But  after  making  every  allowance  for  modifications  wrought 
by  time,  by  adoption  of  strangers  into  the  tribe,  and  other 
internal  sources  of  change,  as  well  as  for  the  imperfection 
of  Cartipr's  renderings  of  the  Hochelaga  tongue,  and  for  subse- 
quent errors  of  transcribers  and  printers,  there  still  remains 
satisfactory  evidence  of  relationship  between  nearly  half  of 
Cartier's  vocabulary  and  the  corresponding  words  of  uue 
Wyandot  tongue.  A  comparison  has  been  made  between  the 
Hochelaga  numerals  and  those  of  the  Wyandots  of  Anderdon. 
In  the  comparative  table  of  numerals  given  on  page  292, 
I  have  placed  alongside  of  the  old  Hochelaga  series  derived 
from  Cartier's  lists  those  now  in  use  among  the  Hurons  of 
Lorette,  as  supplied  to  me  by  M.  Paul  Picard,  the  son  of  the 
late  Huron  chief.  In  the  third  column  another  version  of  the 
Wyandot  numerals  is  given,  from  Gallatin's  comparative 
vocabulary.  It  is  derived  from  different  sources,  including  the 
United  States  War  Department;  and  therefore,  no  doubt, 
illustrates   the   changes    which   the   language    has   undergone 


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THE  HURON-IROQUOIS:  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


among  the  Wyaudots  on  their  remote  Texas  reserve.  Gallatin 
also  gives  another  version  of  Huron  numerals  derived  from 
Sagard.  It  will  be  seen  tliat  M.  Picard  used  the  t  as  in 
Cartier's  lists,  and  in  that  of  the  southern  Wyandots,  where 
the  d  is  employed  in  others,  except  in  the  Nottoway  numerals, 
where  the  use  of  both  is,  no  doubt,  due  to  the  Englisii 
transcriber.  In  comparing  the  different  lists,  this  variation 
in  orthography  and  also  the  interchangeable  h  and  //  have  to 
be  kept  in  view.  Thus  the  Cayuga  has  dckrnnh,  in  the  Oneida 
dckelonh,  where  the  Tuscarortt  has  narjronh.  But  the  Huron 
tcndi,  in  use  now  both  at  Lorette  and  Anderdon,  shows  the 
result  of  long  intercourse  with  Europeans  begetting  an  apprecia- 
tion of  their  discrimination  between  the  hard  and  soft  consonants. 
Had  the  whole  series  been  derived  from  one  source,  such 
orthographic  variations  would  have  disappeared.  The  lists 
have  been  furnished  to  me  by  the  Eev.  J.  G.  Vincent  and  M. 
Picard,  educated  Hurons;  L.  A.  Dorion,  an  educated  Iroquois; 
Dr.  Oronhyatekha,  an  educated  Mohawk ;  Mr.  Horatio  Hale ; 
and  also  from  Gallatin's  valuable  comparative  tables  of  Indian 
vocabularies  in  the  Arcliceologia  Americatia.  In  the  Synopsis 
of  the  Indian  Tribes,  to  which  these  vocabularies  form  an 
appendix,  Gallatin  classed  both  the  Tuteloes  and  the  Nottoways, 
along  with  the  Tuscaroras,  as  southern  Iroquois  tribes.  But 
recent  researches  of  Mr.  Hale  have  established  the  true  place 
of  the  Tuteloes  to  be  with  the  Dacotan,  and  not  the  Huron- 
Iroquois  family.  It  is  otherwise  with  the  Cherohakahs,  or 
Nottoways,  whose  home  was  in  south-eastern  Virginia,  where 
their  memory  is  perpetuated  in  the  name  of  the  river  on  whicli 
they  dwelt.  At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  still 
numbered  130  warriors,  or  about  700  in  all;  but  twenty  years 
later,  of  the  whole  tribe  only  twenty  souls  survived.  At  that 
date  two  vocabularies  of  the  language  were  obtained,  which 
furnish  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  their  classi- 
fication among  southern  Iroquois  tribes.  Their  numerals,  as 
shown  in  the  tables,  approximate,  as  might  be  anticipated,  to 
those  of  the  Tuscaroras,  at  least  in  the  majority  of  the  primary 
numbers ;  whereas  those  of  the  Tuteloes  are  totally  dissimilar. 
As  to  the  Basque  numerals  introduced  alongside  of  them  in 
the  comparative  tables,  they  only  suffice  to  show  that  the  pre- 
Aryrn  language  still  spoken,  in  varying  dialects,  on  both  slopes 


THE  HURON-JROQUOIS :  A   TYPICAL  RACE  297 

of  the  Tyrenees,  diftered  equally  widely  from  the  Aryan  langunges 
of  Europe,  and  from  the  Iroquois  or  any  other  known  American 
Ifin^uaj^e,  except  in  so  far  as  the  latter  are  ag;,'lMtinative  in 
structure.  Van  Eys,  in  his  Basque  Grammar,  draws  attention 
to  the  won  Is  huluzkorri,  q,\u\  larrurfoH,  "naked";  the  first  of 
wliich  litei  lly  signifies  "  red  hair,"  and  the  second  "  red  skin." 
They  are  iuLeictfing  illustrations  of  the  way  in  which  important 
historical  facts  lie  embedded  in  ancient  languages.  Hut  the 
colour  of  the  hair  forbid.«»  the  inference  that  the  ruddy  Bas([ue8 
of  primitive  centuries  were  akin  to  the  "  Kedskins "  of  the 
New  World. 

The  phonology  of  the  Iroquois  languages  is  notable  in  other 
respects  besides  those  already  referred  to.  According  to  M. 
Cuoq,  an  able  philologist,  who  has  laboured  for  many  years  as 
a  missionary  among  the  Iroquois  of  the  Province  of  Quebec, 
the  sounds  are  so  simple  that  he  considers  an  alp  .abet  of 
twelve  letters  sufficient  for  their  indication  :  a,  e,  f,  h,  i,  k,  n, 
0,  r,  s,  t,  w.  The  transliterations  noticeable  in  the  various  Iro- 
quois dialects,  follow  a  well-known  phonetic  law.  Thus  the  I 
and  r  are  interchangeable,  as  ronhve,  "  man,"  in  the  Mohawk, 
becomes  in  the  Oneida  lonkwe ;  raxha,  "  boy,"  becomes  lax?ia ; 
rakeniha,  "  my  father,"  becomes  lakenih,  etc.  The  same  is 
seen  throughout  the  compound  numerals  from  "  eleven  "  on- 
ward. The  Cayuga  and  Tuscarora  most  nearly  approach  to 
the  Mohawk  in  this  use  of  the  r.  A.  characteristic  change  of 
a  different  kind  is  seen  in  the  grammatical  value  of  the  initial 
r  in  the  Mohawk  in  relation  to  gender.  For  example,  onhwe 
is  applied  to  mankind,  as  distinguished  from  karyoh,  "  the 
brute."  It  becomes  ronkwe,  "  man,"  yonkwe  "  woman."  So  also 
raxah,  "  boy,"  changes  to  kaxha,  "  girl  "  ;  rihi/enah,  "  my  son," 
to  kheyenah,  "  my  daughter,"  etc.  The  change  of  gender  is 
further  illustrated  in  such  examples  as  raohih,  his  apple ; 
raoyen,hia  arrow;  ahkohih,  her  apple;  ahkcyen,  her  arrow; 
raonahih  (masc),  axytiahih  (fem.),  their  apples  ;  raodiyenkwireh 
(masc.),  aodiyenkwireh  (fem.),  their  arrows,  etc.  But  this 
arrpngement  of  the  formative  element  as  a  prefix  is  charac- 
teristic of  American  languages,  though  not  peculiar  to  them. 
Thus  Seshutsteaghseragwekough,  Almighty  God  (literally,  "  Thou 
who  hast  all  power,  or  strength  "),  becomes,  in  the  third  person, 
MashatsteaghseragwekougJu 


■jt 


•#<  I 


'  'f->fVi| 


■^ 


I  J. 

-■   'Ji 

■,  '^1'  ill 


m 

1?* . 


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298 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


The  vovel  sounds  are  very  limited.  No  distinction  is 
apparent  in  any  Huron-Iroqiiois  language  between  the  0  and 
the  w.  In  writing  it  the  e  and  u  sounds  are  also  often  inter- 
changeable. Where,  for  example,  c  is  used  in  one  set  of  the 
Tuscarora  numerals  supplied  to  rae,  another  substitutes  u  for 
it  wherever  it  is  follo^7ed  by  an  n\  e.g.  enjik,  unjih  ;  ahsenh, 
ahsunh  ;  endah,  undah,  etc.  So  also  the  word  for  "  man  "  is 
written  for  me  in  one  case  onkvje,  and  in  another  unkweh.  It 
requires  an  acute  and  practised  ear  to  discriminate  the  niceties 
of  Indian  pronunciation,  and  a  no  less  practised  tongue  to 
satisfy  the  critical  native  ear.  Dr.  Oronhyatekha,  when  pressed 
to  define  the  value  of  the  t  sound  in  his  own  name,  replied  "  It  is 
not  quite  t  nor  d."  The  name  is  compounded  of  oronya,  "  blue," 
the  word  used  in  the  Prayer-Book  for  "  heaven,"  and  yodakha, 
"  burning."  In  very  similar  terms,  Asikinack,  an  educated 
Odahwah  Indian,  when  asked  by  me  whether  we  should  say 
Ottawa,  or  Odawa — the  Utawa  of  Morris's  "  Canadian  Boat 
Song," — replied  that  the  sound  lay  between  the  two, — a  nicety 
discernible  only  by  Indian  ears. 

The  euphonic  changes  which  mark  the  systematic  transi- 
tions in  the  Mohawk  language,  though  by  no  means  peculiar 
to  it,  cannot  fail  to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  thoughtful 
student,  who  reflects  on  the  social  condition  of  the  people 
among  whrn  this  elaborated  vehicle  of  thought  was  the  con- 
straining power  by  means  of  which  their  chiefs  and  elders 
swayed  the  nations  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy  with  an  elo- 
quence more  powerful  and  persuasive  than  that  of  many 
civilised  nations.  They  have  been  illustrated  in  the  verb; 
but  the  same  systematic  application  of  juphonic  change  through 
all  the  transitions  of  their  vocabulary  is  seen  in  the  elaborate 
word- sentences,  so  characteristic  of  the  extreme  length  to 
which  the  incorporating  mode  of  structure  of  the  Turanian 
family  of  languages  is  carried  in  many  of  those  spoken  by  the 
American  nations.  The  habitual  concentration  of  complex  ideas 
in  a  single  word  has  long  been  recognised,  not  onlv  as  giving 
a  peculiar  character  to  many  of  the  Indian  languages,  but  as 
one  source  of  their  adaptability  to  the  aims  of  native  oratory. 
From  the  Massachusetts  Bible  of  Eliot,  Professor  Whitney 
quotes  a  word  of  eleven  syllables  ;  and  Gallatin  produces  from 
the  Cherokee  another  of  seventeen  syllables.     This  frequently 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE         299 


embodies  a  descriptive  holophrasm,  and  so  aids  the  native 
rendering  of  novel  objects  and  ideas  into  a  language,  the  vo- 
cabulary of  which  is  necessarily  devoid  of  the  requisite  terms. 
But  in  such  cases  the  agglutinative  process  is  obvious,  and  the 
elements  of  the  compounded  word  must  be  present  to  the  mind 
of  speaker  and  hearer.  The  English  word  "  almighty  "  is  itself 
an  example  of  the  process.  It  becomes  in  the  Mohawk  Prayer- 
Book  seshatsteaghseragivekonh,  from  seshatsteh,  "  you  are  strong," 
and  ahkivekonh,  "  all,"  or  "  the  whole."  When  the  missionaries 
first  undertook  to  render  into  the  Mohawk  language  the  Gospels 
and  Service-Books  for  Christian  worship,  it  may  be  doubted  if 
many  of  their  converts  had  ever  seen  a  sheep.  But  they  had 
to  reproduce  in  Mohawk  this  general  confession  :  "  We  have 
erred  and  strayed  from  Thy  ways  like  lost  sheep."  They  did 
it  accordingly  in  this  fashion  :  Teyagwaderyeadawearyesneoni 
yoegwathaharagwaghtlm  tsisahate  tsiniyouht  yodiyadaghtoeouh 
teyodinakaroetoeha,  which  may  be  literally  rendered  :  "  We  make 
a  mistake,  and  get  off  the  tra*;k  where  your  road  is,  the  same 
as  strayed  animals  with  small  horns."  The  extreme  literal- 
ness  of  the  rendering  may  probably  strike  the  mind  of  the 
English  reader  in  a  way  that  would  not  occur  to  the  Indian, 
familiar  with  such  descriptive  holophrasms.  But  it  illustrates 
a  difficulty  with  which  Eliot  was  very  familiar  when  engaged 
on  his  Massachusetts  Indian  Bible.  In  translating,  for 
example,  the  song  of  De'^orah  and  Barak,  where  the  mother  of 
Sisera  "  cried  through  the  lattice,"  the  good  missionary  looked 
in  vain  in  the  Indian  wigwam  for  anything  that  corre- 
sponded to  the  term.  At  length  he  called  an  Indian  and 
described  to  him  a  lattice  as  wicker-work,  and  obtained  in 
response  a  rendering  of  the  text  which  literally  meant : 
"  The  mother  of  Sisera  looked  through  an  eel-pot."  It  was 
the  only  kind  of  wicker-work  of  which  the  Indian  had  any 
knowledge. 

Evidences  of  an  exceptional  development  of  the  aesthetic 
faculty  among  the  nations  of  the  New  World  have  already 
been  noted  ;  but  the  Iroquois  cannot  be  included  among  those 
specially  noticeable  for  their  imitative  powers,  or  in  other  ways 
furnishing  evidence  of  any  highly  developed  artistic  faculty. 
They  cannot  compare  in  this  respect  with  the  Zuni  or  others 
of  the  Pueblo  Indians,  among  whom  the  arts  of  long-settled 


»'.'^ 


-fV' 


4^. 


I 


I 


300  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

agricultural  communities  have  been  de\'elopcd  for  purposes  of 
ornament  as  well  as  atility  ;  nor  is  their  inferiority  less  ques- 
tionable when  we  compare  them  with  some  of  the  tribes  of 
the  north-west  coast  and  the  neighbouring  islands.  Their 
languages  confirm  this;  for  while,  as  Mr.  Gushing  has  shown, 
the  Zuni  language  possesses  many  words  relating  to  art-pro- 
cesses, the  Iroquois  and  Algonkin  dialects  supply  such  terms 
for  the  most  part  only  in  descriptive  holophrasms,  and  not  in 
primitive  roots. 

In  Iroquois,  the  word  Icar  or  hare  signil,  3  "  to  paint "  or 
"  draw."  The  initial  k  in  Iroquois  words  is  usually  not  radical, 
and  so  rarely  enters  into  composite  terms.  The  root  of  har,  is 
ar  or  are,  which  added  to  Jcaiata,  or  oiata,  "  living  thing,  person, 
body,"  makes  kaiatare,  "  image "  or  "  likeness,"  i.e.  "  pictured 
body,"  or  as  a  verb  "  to  paint "  or  "  depict  anything."  To  this 
is  added  the  verbal  sulfix  ta  or  tlia,  which  occasionally  becomes 
stha,  and  has  different  meanings,  causative  and  instrumental. 
The  Mohawk  supplies  such  words  and  terms  of  art  as  ahyeyatonh, 
"to  grave"  ;  rahyatonlis, "  an  engraver"  ;  ahyekonteke,  "  to  paint" ; 
rakonteks,  "  a  painter  "  ;  s'hakoyatarlia,  "  an  artist " ;  rahkara- 
tahkwas, "  a  carver  " ;  rateanakerahtha, "  a  modeller,"'  or  "  one  who 
models  figures  in  clay."  In  the  Iroquois  version  of  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John,  chap.  viii.  verse  6  reads  thus :  Nok  tanon  ne  lesos 
ivathastsake  ehtake  7wk  rasnonsake  (more  correctly,  rasnonkenh) 
vjarate  wahiaton  onwentsiake,  lit.  "  But  instead  Jesus  bent  low 
and  with  hand  used,  wrote,"  or  "  engraved,  on  the  eartli."  The 
version  of  che  second  commandment  in  the  Mohawk  Prayer- 
Book  affords  another  illustration,  in  the  holophrasm  asadatyagh- 
doenihseroenyea.  It  is  compounded  of  ahsonniyon,  "  make " ; 
alisadadonnyen,  "  to  make  for  yourself  " ;  kayadonnihsera,  "  an 
image  "  or  "  doll."  Toghsa  asadatyaghdoenihseroenyea,  slukonh 
othenouh  taoesakyatayerea  nene  enekea  karouhyakouh,  neteas 
eghtake  oughweatsyakonh,  etc.,  lit.  "  Do  not  make  an  image  or 
idol  for  yourself,  even  anything  like  above  in  the  sky,  nor 
below  in  the  earth,"  etc. 

The  word  kaiata,  or  oiata,  as  already  noted,  signifies  "a 
living  thing,  person,"  or  "  body  " ;  kakonsa  or  okonsa,  is  the 
"  face  "  or  "  visage  " ;  and  from  those  come  many  derivatives. 
Bruyas  gives  gaiata,  "  a  living  thing  " ;  gaiatare  (or  kaiatare) 
"  image,"  and  as  a  verb,  "  to  paint."     There  is  also  gaiatonni, 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE         301 


"a 

the 

;ives. 

OfMli, 


"  a  doll "  or  "  puppet,"  i.e.  "  a  made  person,"  fronu  oiata  and 
konnis,  "  to  make."     From   the  same  root  we  may  probably 
derive  kiaton, "  to  write,"  as  in  the  Iroquois  Gospels,  wahaiaton, 
"  wrote  " ;  kahiaton,,  "  it  is  written,"  etc.     The  original  meaning 
was,  no  doubt,  picture-writing,  i.e.  making  images  of  things. 
In  the  old  Onondaga  dictionary  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  is  the 
word  kiatonnion,  "  I  keep  writing."     The  same  authority  also 
gives  guianatonh  (kianatonh), "  I  paint,"  apparently  from  another 
root,  oiana  (kaiana)  ''  tiack,  walk,  gait,"  etc.,  which  has  many 
derivatives.     The  remarkable  compass  and  minute  nicety  of 
expression  which  the  Iroquois  grammar  had  acquired  in  the 
various  languages   of  the  Six  Nations,  approximates  to   the 
wonderful  expansion  effected  on  the  crude  Anglo-Saxon  verb 
by    the    evolution    of   the    auxiliaries   out    of   vague    active 
verbs.     This  has  been  effected  through  the  habitual  resort  to 
oratory  as  a  source  of  combined  action  in  the  councils  of  the 
tribes,  which  constituted  one  of  the  most  remarkable  character- 
istics of  this  representative  Indian  stock.     In  this  respect  the 
expressive  flexibility  and  rhetorical  aptitude  of  the  Iroquois 
languages  stand  out  in  striking  contrast  to  the  limited  compass 
of  grammatical  discrimination  in  those  of  Europe's  Scandinavian 
and  Teutonic  races  by  whom  the  Eoman  empire  was  overthrown. 
They  had  indeed  their  "  tun-moot,"  the  council  meeting  of  the 
village  community  for  justice  and  government ;  but  the  delibera- 
tions on  the  moot-hill,  though  they  embodied  the  germ  of  all 
later    parliaments,    gave    birth    to    no    such   development    of 
language.      It  is  when  entering  on  the  history  of  the   grand 
constitdtional  struggle  for  a  free  parliament  that  Carlyle,  in 
quaint  nony,  exclaims,  or  assigns  to  his  apocryphal  Dryasdust 
the  exclamation :  "  I  have  known  nations  altogether  destitute 
of  printers'  types  and  learned  appliances,  with  nothing  betcer 
than  old  songs,  monumental  stone  heaps  and  quipo-thrums  to 
keep   record   by,  who  had  truer  memory  of  their  memorable 
things.  .  .  .  The  English,  one  can  discern  withal,  have  been 
perhaps  as  brave  a  people  as  their  neighbours  ;   perhaps,  for 
valour  of  actior  and  true  hard  labour  in  this  earth,  since  brav'e 
peoples  were  first  made  in  it,  there  has  been  none  braver  any 
where  or  any  when : — but  also,  it  must  be  owned,  in  stupidity 
of  speech  they  have  no  fellow ! "  ^     It  suited  the  purpose  of 
^  Cromwell's  Letters  and  Speeches,  Introduction. 


'<i^t   ii 


't 


>.■ 


"4  X 


'4:' 


302  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 

the  satirist  to  ignore  for  the  moment  that  Shakespeare  came 
of  that  same  speechless  race.  But  in  its  earlier  stage  when 
any  comparison  with  Indian  nations  is  permissible  the  irony 
is  not  extravagant. 

But  apart  from  the  great  compass  of  the  Iroquois  verb  as 
illustrative  of  grammatical  development  in  the  languages  of 
iinlettered  nations,  another  characteristic  feature  is  the  dis- 
tinction between  masculine  and  feminine  forms  both  in  speaking 
of  and  to  a  man  or  woman.  In  the  study  of  the  minute 
niceties  of  the  Iroquois  verb  I  have  been  largely  indebted 
to  Dr.  Oronhyatekha,  and  to  the  Eev.  Isaac  Bearfoot,  both 
educated  Mohawks.  When  tracing  out  the  comprehcaisive  power 
of  the  Mohawk  verb,  I  had  in  view  at  the  same  time  the  recovery 
of  evidences  that  the  language  might  supply  of  an  inherent 
recognition  of  the  aitistic  faculty.  This  is  much  more  strongly 
n"*anifested  in  other  American  races  in  all  stages  of  progress, 
from  the  ingenious  Haidahs  and  Tawatins  of  British  Columbia, 
and  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  Arizona,  to  the  semi-civilised  nations 
of  Mexico  and  the  lettered  races  of  Central  and  Southern 
America.  Nevertheless  the  Iroquois  recorded  in  primitive 
picture-writing  the  deeds  of  their  departed  braves,  and  have 
left  records  in  the  same  crude  hieroglyphics,  such  as  the  graven 
rock  on  Cunningham  Island,  Lake  Erie,  Their  pipes  were 
carved,  and  their  pottery  modelled  into  representations  of 
familar  objects  indicative  of  a  habitual,  though  simple  practice 
of  imitative  art  that  could  not  fail  to  beget  some  counterpart 
in  their  languages.  Hence  the  choice. of  the  verb  kyadarahste, 
"  to  draw."  Kayadareh,  or  kyadareh,  signifies  "  a  body  or  form 
in"  e.g.  "  in  a  frame  "  or  " group  "  ;  hyadwrastonh,  on  the  other 
hand,  implies  "  a  body  "  or  "  form  transferred  on  to  something," 
e.g.  a  board  or  canvas.  The  latter  is  therefore  the  more 
expressive  and  correct  terra  to  use  for  drawing  or  painting, 
while  it  illustrates  the  process  of  augmenting  the  vocabulary  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  novel  acquisitions  in  art.  But  its 
chief  value  consists  in  its  affording  illustration  not  only  of  the 
inherent  capacity  of  the  language  to  express  with  minute  nicety 
of  detail  the  manifestations  of  an  aesthetic  faculty,  as  yet  very 
partially  developed,  but  of  the  compass  of  its  grammar  to  indi- 
cate every  distinctive  variation  of  form  expressive  of  time, 
place,  action,  object,  o"  subject.     The  latest  results  of  philologi- 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE  303 

cal  research  in  this  direction  are  set  forth  in  the  Lexiqiie  ani 
the  Etudes  philologiqiie  of  Abbe  Cuoq,  and  in  an  admirable 
r6suvi4  in  Mr.  Horatio  Hale's  introduction  to  The  Iroquois 
Book  of  Rites}  The  systematic  processes  by  which  the  moods 
and  tenses  are  indicated,  either  bv  changes  of  termination  or 
prefixed  particles,  or  by  both  conjomed,  are  carefully  indicated 
by  Mr.  Hale ;  but  he  adds :  "  A  complete  grammar  of  this 
speech,  as  full  and  minute  as  the  best  Sanscrit  or  Greek 
grammars,  would  probably  equal,  and  perhaps  surpass  those 
grammars  in  extent.  The  unconscious  forces  of  memory  and 
of  discrimination  required  to  maintain  this  complicated  intel- 
lectual machine,  and  to  preserve  it  constantly  exact,  and  in 
good  working  order,  must  be  prodigious."  This  tendency  to 
elaborate  niceties  of  discrimination  is  in  striking  contrast  to 
that  of  the  modern  cultivated  languages  of  Europe ;  and  it  is 
not  without  reason  that  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  complicated 
intellectual  machine."  The  contrast,  for  example,  between  the 
Mohawk  or  other  Iroquois  verb,  in  all  its  complex  variations, 
and  the  extreme  simplicity  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  verb,  with  only 
its  Indefinite  and  Perfect  Tenses, — the  former  predicated  either 
of  the  present,  or  of  a  future  time,  and  the  latter  of  any  past 
time, — can  scarcely  fail  to  impress  the  thoughtful  student  who 
keeps  in  view  the  relative  civilisation  of  the  Iroquois,  and  of 
the  English  people  at  the  period  when  Anglo-Saxon  in  its 
purely  inflectional  stage  was  still  the  national  language.  The 
English  verb  has  since  then  acquired  wonderful  power  and 
compass  by  means  of  the  auxiliary  verbs ;  but  its  whole 
tendency  is  at  variance  with  the  elaborations  in  number  and 
gender  of  the  Iroquois  verb.  These  are  only  partially 
illustrated  in  the  above  example,  and  might  easily  have  been 
carried  further.  For  example,  the  rendering  of  the  Active, 
Indicative,  Past  Progressive,  with  Feminine  Object  is  really  a 
verb  in  the  passive  voice.  To  realise  the  full  inflectional 
niceties  of  such  minute  grammatical  distinctions,  the  two 
genders  should  be  given  ;  and  also  a  mixed  gender,  i.e.  the  two 
genders  together,  as  the  artists  may  consist  of  both  sexes. 
Tliis  is  indicated  in  the  two  forms  of  the  Future  Indefinite,  by 
eas'hakodiyadarahste,  "  they  (mas.)  shall  draw  her,"  eayaktodiyi - 
daraJiste,  "  they  (fem.)  shall  draw  her."     But  a  study  of  th, 

>  p.  110. 


m 


i  ■  )i 


11  i 


I  ;M 


304 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE 


paradigm  of  the  3Iohawk  verb  will  be  found  to  illustrate 
in  a  variety  of  interesting  aspects  the  process  of  unj)re- 
meditated  grammatical  evolution  among  an  unlettered  people, 
with  whom  the  influence  of  oratory  in  the  councils  of  the 
tribe  was  one  of  their  most  powerful  resources  as  a  prelim- 
inary to  war. 

The  grand  movement  of  the  barbarian  races  of  North(;rn 
Europe  in  the  fifth  and  following  centuries  is  spoken  of  as  the 
wandering  of  the  nations.  The  natural  barriers  of  the  continent 
seemed  for  a  time  to  have  given  way,  and  the  unknown  tribes 
from  beyond  the  Baltic  and  from  the  shores  of  the  North  Sea 
poured  into  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  and  swept  beyond  the  Alps 
and  the  Pyrenees  to  the  furthest  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  The  physical  geography  of  the  New  World  presents 
fewer  barriers  to  be  surmounted.  But  if  the  student  of  North 
American  ethnology  spread  before  him  a  map  of  the  continent, 
and  trace  out  the  wanderings  of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  he  must 
revert  in  fancy  to  that  remote  era  when  confederated  Iroquois 
and  Algonkins  swept  in  triumphant  fury  through  the  wasted 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  repeated  there  what  Goth  and  Hun  did 
for  Europe,  in  Rome's  decline  and  fall.  The  long-settled  and 
semi-civilised  Mound -Builders  fled  before  the  furious  onset, 
leaving  the  great  river- valley  a  desolate  waste.  The  barrier  of 
an  old-settled  and  wall-organised  community,  which,  probably 
for  centuries,  had  kept  America's  northern  barbarians  in  check, 
was  removed,  and  the  fierce  Huron-Iroquois  ranged  at  will  over 
the  eastern  regions  of  the  continent,  far  southward  of  the  North 
Carolina  river-valleys,  where  the  Nottoways  and  Tuscaroras 
found  a  new  home.  As  to  the  Nottoways,  they  appear  to  have 
passed  out  of  all  remembrance  as  an  Iroquois  tribe  ;  yet  it  is 
suggestive  of  a  long-forgotten  chapter  of  Indian  history,  that 
the  name  is  still  in  use  among  the  northern  Algonkins  as  the 
designation  of  the  whole  Iroquois  stock.  The  Nottawa-saga  is 
doubtless  a  memorial  of  their  presence  on  the  Georgian  Bay, 
and  the  Notaway  {NdhdaMve)  river  which  falls  into  Hudson 
Bay  at  James  Bay,  is  so  named  in  memory  of  Huron-Iroquois 
wanderers  into  that  Algonkin  region. 

Some  portion  of  the  ancient  Huron  stock  tarried  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  what  is  known  to  us  now  as 
the    traditional    cradle -land    of   those    Canadian    aborigines. 


THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A  TYPICAL  RACE  305 

Others  found  their  way  down  the  Hudson,  or  selected  new 
homes  for  themselves  on  the  rivers  and  lakes  that  lay  to  the 
west,  till  they  reached  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie ;  and  all  that 
is  now  the  populous  region  of  Western  New  York  was  in 
occupation  of  the  Iroquois  race.  Feuds  broke  out  between 
them  and  the  parent  stock  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
They  meted  out  to  those  of  their  own  race  the  same  vengeance 
as  to  strangers ;  and  the  survivors,  abandoning  their  homes, 
fled  westward  in  search  of  settlements  beyond  their  reach. 
The  Georgian  Bay  lay  remote  from  the  territory  of  the 
Iroquois,  but  the  nations  of  the  Wyandot  stock  spread  beyond 
%  until  the  Niagara  peninsula  and  the  fertile  regions  between 
Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Erie  were  occupied  by  them,  and  the 
Niagara  river  alone  kept  apart  what  were  now  hostile  tribes. 
But  wherever  the  test  of  linguistic  evidence  can  be  obtained 
their  affinities  are  placed  beyond  dispute.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  multiplication  of  dialects  is  no  less  apparent,  and  in 
many  ways  helps  to  throw  light  on  the  history  of  the  race. 

The  old  Huron  mother  tongue  still  partially  preserves  the 
labials  which  have  disappeared  from  all  the  Iroquois  lan- 
guages. The  Mohawk  approaches  nearest  to  this,  and  appears 
to  be  the  main  stem  from  whence  other  languages  of  the  Six 
Nations  have  branched  off.  But  the  diversities  in  speech  of 
the  various  members  of  the  confederacy  leave  no  room  to 
doubt  the  prolonged  isolation  of  the  several  tribes,  or  "  nations," 
before  they  were  induced  to  recognise  the  claims  of  consan- 
guinity, and  to  band  together  for  their  common  interest. 
Some  of  the  noteworthy  diversities  of  tongue  may  be  pointed 
out,  such  as  the  r  sound  which  predominates  in  the  Mohawk, 
while  the  I  takes  its  place  in  the  Oneida.  In  the  Onondaga, 
Cayuga,  and  Seneca,  they  are  no  longer  heard.  The  last  of 
these  reduces  the  primary  forms  to  the  narrowest  range ;  but 
beyond,  to  the  westward,  the  old  Eries  dwelt,  speaking,  it  may 
be  presumed,  a  modified  Seneca  dialect,  but  of  which  un- 
fortunately no  record  survives.  As  to  the  Tuscaroras  and  the 
Nottoways,  if  we  knew  nothing  of  their  history,  their  languages 
would  suffice  to  tell  that  they  had  been  longest  and  most 
widely  separated  from  the  parent  stock. 

It  is  not  without  interest  to  note  in  conclusion  that  the 
main  body  of  the  representatives  of  the  nations  of  the  ancient 


«  ■>*'''■ 


■I, 


-n 


%  "f 


3o6  THE  HURON-IROQUOIS :  A   TYPICAL  RACE 


8.  '^\- 


Iroquois  league  sprung  from  the  Huron -Iroquois  stock  of 
Eastern  Canada, — after  sojourning  for  centuries  beyond  the  St. 
Lawrence,  until  the  traditions  of  the  home  of  the  race  had 
faded  out  of  memory,  or  given  place  to  mythic  legends  of 
autochthon  origin, — has  returned  to  Canadian  soil.  At  Caugh- 
nawaga,  St.  Eegis,  .Oka,  and  on  the  river  St.  Charles,  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec ;  at  Anderdon,  the  Bay  of  Quint(5,  and 
above  all,  on  the  Grand  river,  in  Ontario ;  the  Huron-Iroquois 
are  now  settled  to  the  number  of  upwards  of  8000,  without 
reckoning  other  tribes.  If,  indeed,  the  surviving  representa- 
tives of  the  aborigines  in  the  old  provinces  of  the  Canadian 
Dominion  are  taken  as  a  whole,  they  number  upwards  of 
34,000,  apart  from  the  many  thousands  in  Manitoba,  British 
Columbia,  and  the  North-west  Territories.  But  the  nomad 
Indians  must  be  classed  wholly  apart  from  the  settlers  on  the 
Grand  river  reserves.  The  latter  are  a  highly  intelligent, 
civilised  people,  more  and  more  adapting  themselves  to  the 
habits  of  the  strangers  who  have  supplanted  them ;  and  they 
are  destined  as  certainly  to  merge  into  the  predominant  race, 
as  the  waters  of  their  ancient  ]akes  mingle  and  are  lost  in  the 
ocean.  Yet  the  process  is  no  longer  one  of  extinction  but  of 
absorption ;  and  will  assuredly  leave  traces  of  the  American 
autochthones,  similar  to  those  which  still  in  Europe  perpetuate 
some  ethnical  memorial  of  Allophylian  races. 


VII 


HYBEIDITY  AND   HEREDITY 


»'-.'« 


Four  centuries  have  now  completed  their  course  since  the 
discovery  of  America  revealed  to  Europe  an  indigenous  people, 
distinct  in  many  respects  from  all  the  races  of  the  Old  World. 
There,  as  in  the  older  historic  areas,  man  is  indeed  seen  in 
various  stages :  from  the  rudest  condition  of  savage  life,  with- 
out any  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  and  subsisting  solely  by  the 
chase,  to  the  comparatively  civilised  nations  of  Mexico, 
Central  America,  and  Peru,  familiar  with  some  of  the  most 
important  arts,  skilled  in  agriculture,  and  with  a  system  of 
writing  embodying  the  essential  germs  of  intellectual  pro- 
gress. 

The  western  hemisphere,  which  was  the  arena  of  such 
ethnical  development,  had  lain,  for  unnumbered  centuries, 
apart  from  Asia  and  Europe ;  and  so  its  various  nationalities 
and  races  were  left  to  work  out  their  own  destinies,  and  to 
develop  in  their  own  way  whatever  inherent  capacities  for 
progress  pertained  to  them.  But  this  done,  it  was  abruptly 
brought  into  intimate  relations  with  Europe  by  the  maritime 
discoveries  which  marked  the  closing  years  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

From  that  date  a  constant  transfer  of  races  from  the  Old 
to  the  New  World  has  been  taking  place,  alike  by  voluntary 
and  enforced  migration;  with  results  involving  a  series  of 
undesigned  yet  exhaustive  ethnological  experiments  carried 
out  on  the  grandest  scale.  There  alike  has  been  tested  to 
what  extent  the  European  and  the  African  are  affected  by 
migration  to  new  regions,   and  by  admixture  with  diverse 


308 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


races.  There  can  now  be  witnessed  the  results  of  a  transfer- 
ence, for  upwards  of  three  centuries,  of  indigenous  populations 
of  the  Old  World  to  a  continent  where  they  have  been  sub- 
jected to  many  novel  geographical,  climatic,  and  social  influ- 
ences. There,  too,  has  taken  place,  on  a  scale  without  any 
parallel  elsewhere,  an  intimate  and  prolonged  intermixture  of 
some  of  the  most  highly  cultured  races  of  Europe  with  purely 
savage  tribes,  under  circumstances  which  have  tended  to  place 
them,  for  the  time  being,  on  an  equality  as  hunters,  trappers, 
or  explorers  of  their  vast  forest  and  prairie  wilds. 

The  whole  question  of  heredity,  its  phenomena  and  results, 
is  now  in  process  of  review  under  the  novel  phases  that  affect 
anthropology  ;  and  in  tliis  view  the  illustrations  which  the  New 
World  supplies  in  reference  to  hybridity  and  absorption  have 
a  distinctxve  value.  The  anthropologist  recognises  various 
elements  marking  diversity  of  race  in  stature,  colour,  propor- 
tion of  limbs,  conformation  of  skull,  colour  and  other  charac- 
teristics of  eye  and  hair.  He  also  notes  no  less  distinctively 
the  diverse  intellectual  and  moral  aptitudes.  Noticeable  as 
are  the  diversities  of  national  type  in  Europe,  the  range  of 
variation  is  trifling  when  compared  with  the  conditions  under 
which  the  White,  Eed,  and  Black  races  have  met  and 
intermingled  in  the  West  Indies  and  in  North  and  South 
America.  The  cultured  and  civilised  races  of  Europe  have 
there  united  their  blood  with  the  African  negro  and  the  native 
Indian  savage ;  and  both  admixtures  have  been  carried  out  on 
so  great  a  scale  as  to  furnish  indisputable  data  for  determining 
the  question  how  far  the  half-breed  is  a  mean  between  the 
two  parents ;  or  if  there  is  any  inevitable  preponderance  of 
one  of  them,  with  a  tendency  to  revert  to  one  or  the  other 
type.  The  intermarriage  of  fair  and  dark  races  of  the  Old 
World  has  gone  on  throughout  the  whole  historic  period, 
with  apparently  resultant  intermediate  types.  The  Iberians 
and  "  black  Celts  "  of  Western  Europe,  and  the  dark  brunettes 
of  the  Mediterranean  shores,  stand  out  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  blondes  of  the  Baltic  shores.  Whatever  may  be  said  of 
other  diversities  of  race.  Professor  Huxley  is  led  to  the  opinion 
that  the  Melanochroi,  or  dark  whites,  are  not  a  distinct 
group,  but  the  metis  resultant  from  just  such  a  mixture  of  his 
"  Australioids "  and  his  "  Xanthocroi,"  as  has  been  going  on 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


309 


for  centuries  on  the  American  continent  between  the  blondes 
of  Europe  and  the  native  olive-skinned  American,  and  between 
both  of  them  and  the  dark  African  race. 

Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  many  anthropologists  insist  on  the 
survival  of  distinct  types,  even  among  approximate  races,  as 
shown  in  the  remarkable  persistency  of  the  Jewish  type,  not- 
withstanding the  modifications  that  have  resulted  from  inter- 
marriage with  fair  and  dark  races  of  many  lands.  Dr.  F.  von 
Luschan,  in  describing  the  Tachtadschy,^  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  Greeks  of  Lycia  represent  a  mixture  of  two 
distinct  types.  From  this  he  draws  the  following  inference : 
"  At  first  glance  it  appears  remarkable  and  hardly  probable 
that  two  disparate  types  should  remain  distinct,  although 
intermarriage  has  continued  without  interruption  through 
thousands  of  years.  But  we  must  acknowledge  that  it  would 
be  just  as  remarkable  if  continued  intercrossing  should  result 
in  the  production  of  a  middle  type  {Mischform).  It  is  true 
that  at  the  present  time  the  greater  number  of  anthropologists 
appear  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  middle  forms  originate 
wherever  two  distinct  types  live  in  close  contact  for  a  long 
time.  If  this  is  true  at  all,  it  is  true  only  in  a  very  limited 
sense,  and  still  needs  to  be  proven.  A  'priori,  we  rather 
ought  to  expect  that  one  or  the  other  of  these  types  would 
soon  succumb  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  It  would  become 
extinct,  and  give  way  to  the  other  type ;  or  both  types  might 
continue  to  co-exist,  although  intercrossing  might  go  on  for 
centuries.  They  would  undergo  no  other  changes  than  those 
which  each  singly,  uninfluenced  by  the  other,  would  have 
undergone  by  the  agency  of  physical  causes." 

The  evidence  we  possess  of  the  physical  characteristics  of 
the  succession  of  races  in  Europe  from  palaeolithic  times  is 
already  considerable ;  and  in  reference  to  neolithic  and  later 
periods  is  ample.  Within  the  recent  historic  period  of  the 
decline  and  fall  of  Eome,  and  the  influx  of  Northern  and 
Asiatic  barbarians,  the  evidence  of  admixture  of  race  is 
abundant ;  and  the  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  changes 
resulting  therefrom  have  stamped  their  ineffaceable  impress 
on  history.  But  the  conditions  under  which  the  meeting  of 
the  Aryans  with  Allophylians,  Neolithians,  or  other  prehistoric 

^  Reisen  in  Lykien,  etc.,  Vienna,  1889. 


I'M 


.•:lfi 


3«o 


HVBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


races  took  place  in  older  centuries,  can  only  be  surmised ;  and 
the  many  analoj^ies  resulting  from  the  intrusion  of  the  Euro- 
pean races  on  the  aborigines  of  the  western  hemisphere  are 
calculated  to  render  useful  aid  in  determining  some  definite 
results. 

History  has  familiarised  us  with  the  idea  of  sovereign  and 
subject  races.  The  monuments  of  Jlgypt  peii)etuate  the  fact 
from  its  remote  dawn,  Punic,  Koman,  Gothic,  Frank,  Saracenic, 
and  Scandinaviun  races,  have  in  turn  subdued  others,  and 
made  them  subservient  to  their  will.  Evidence  of  a  difleretit 
kind,  but  little  less  definite,  points  to  the  intrusion  into 
Europe  in  prehistoric  times  of  races  superior  alike  in  physical 
type,  and  in  the  arts  upon  which  progress  depends,  to  the 
Autochthones,  or  primitive  occupants  of  the  soil.  Further 
indications  have  been  assumed  to  point  to  the  contemporaneous 
presence,  in  primaeval  Britain,  as  elsewhere,  of  races  of  diverse 
type,  and  apparently  in  the  relation  of  lord  and  serf :  a  natural 
if  not  indeed  inevitable  consequence  of  the  intrusion  of  a 
superior  race  of  conquerors. 

But  in  the  New  World  the  inaptitude  of  the  native  race 
for  useful  serfdom  largely  contributed  to  the  introduction  there 
of  other  and  \  cry  diverse  races  from  Africa  and  Asia ;  so  that 
now  within  a  well-defined  North  American  area,  indigenous 
populations  of  the  three  continents  of  the  Old  World  are  dis- 
placing its  native  races.  Still  more,  all  three  meet  there 
under  circumstances  which  inevitably  lead  to  their  intermixture 
with  one  another,  and  with  the  native  races. 

Various  terms,  such  as  Iberian,  Silurian,  Canstadt,  Cimbric, 
"Finnish,  and  Turanian,  have  been  applied  to  primitive  types 
as  expressive  of  the  hypothesis  of  their  origin.  But  on  turning 
to  the  American  continent  we  see  vast  regions  occupied  ex- 
clusively until  a  comparatively  recent  period  by  tribes  of 
savage  hunters,  upon  whom  some  of  the  most  civilised  races 
of  Europe  have  intruded,  with  results  in  many  respects  so 
strikingly  accordant  with  the  supposed  evolution  of  the 
Melanochroi  of  the  Old  World  that  we  seem  to  look  upon  a 
series  of  ethnological  experiments  prolonged  through  centuries, 
with  synthetic  results  to  a  large  extent  confirmatory  of  previous 
inductions. 

The  intermingling  of  very  diverse  races  at  present  taking 


HYliRWITY  AND  HEREDITY 


311 


place  on  the  American  continent  includes  some  of  widely 
diverse  types.  There  is  seen  the  Portuguese  in  Brazil;  the 
Spaniard  in  Peru,  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  in  Cuba ;  the 
African  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  Southern  States ;  the 
Chinese  on  the  Pacific ;  the  Frenchman  on  the  St.  Lawrence ; 
the  German,  the  Italian,  the  Norwegian,  the  Icelander,  the 
Celt,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon :  all  subjected  to  novel  influences, 
necessarily  testing  the  results  of  a  change  of  climate,  of  diet, 
and  of  social  habits,  on  the  ethnical  character  of  each.  There 
too,  alike  in  the  lied  and  the  Black  races,  we  can  study  the 
results  of  hybridity  carried  out  on  a  scale  adequate  to  deter- 
mine many  important  points  calculated  to  throw  light  on  the 
origin  and  perpetuation  of  diverse  races  of  mankind. 

The  growth  of  a  race  of  hybrid  African  blood  has  been  one 
of  the  results  of  the  substitution  at  an  early  date  of  imported 
negro  slaves  to  supply  the  place  of  the  rapidly  disappearing 
Indians  who  perished  under  the  exactions  of  their  taskmasters. 
According  to  careful  data  set  forth  in  the  United  States 
census  for  1850,  the  whole  number  of  native  Africans  imported 
cannot  have  exceeded  400,000.  At  present  the  coloured  race 
— hybrids  chiefly — of  African  blood  numbers  nearly  7,000,000. 
In  1715  there  were  58,000  negroes  in  British  America ;  in 
1775,  when  the  revolution  broke  out,  there  were  501,102. 
After  the  epoch  of  independence  the  increase  became  more 
rapid.  In  1790  the  numbers  were  757,208;  in  1800, 
893,041 ;  in  1810,  1,191,364.  At  the  date  of  emancipation 
in  1865  there  were,  in  round  numbers,  in  slavery,  4,000,000  ; 
and  at  the  census  in  1880  the  negro  population  in  the  United 
States  had  risen  to  6,580,793;^  and  in  the  returns  thus  far 
published  relative  to  the  later  census  of  1890,  in  the 
Southern  States  alone  they  are  reported  to  number  6,996,116  ; 
so  that  with  the  added  numbers  of  the  Northern  States  and 
Canada  they  can  fall  little  short  of  8,000,000.  Of  this 
numerous  intrusive  race,  the  larger  number  are  hybrids ;  and, 
as  was  inevitable,  they  include  some  small  proportion  of 
mixed  negro  and  Indian  blood.^  But  it  is  the  Metis,  or  White 
and  Red  half-breed,  that  constitutes  the  subject  of  special 
interest  here. 


"V 


ft. 'If 


'A  ! 


*  Vide  History  of  the  Negro  Race  in  America,    G.  W.  Williams. 
«  Sdmee,  Feb.  13,  1891.     A.  F.  Chamberlain. 


W\ 


3" 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


1^ 


i>>» 


>^ 


'4 


A^arious  causes  have  tended  to  beget  more  friendly  relations 
between  the  older  colonists  of  New  France,  and  at  a  later 
date  between  those  of  British  America  and  the  native  Inuian 
race,  than  have  existed  either  in  Spanish  America  or  the 
United  States. 

The  great  North-West,  with  its  warlike  Chippeways,  Crees, 
Sioux,  and  Blackfeet;  and  beyond  the  Eocky  Mountains  its 
Tinnd,  Babeens,  Clalams,  Newatees,  Chinooks,  Cowlitz,  and 
numerous  other  native  tribes  ;  had  till  recently  been  under  the 
control  of  the  pU-powerful  fur-trading  company  of  Hudson 
Bay.  The  interests  of  the  fur-traders  stimulated  them  to  fair 
and  honourable  dealing  with  the  native  tribes ;  and  while  they 
had  no  motive  to  encourage  the  Indians  to  abandon  their 
nomadic  life  for  the  civilised  habits  of  a  settled  people,  or  even 
to  interpose  in  the  wars  which  varied  the  monotony  of  the 
Indians'  wild  'nmter-life,  they  had  so  thoroughly  won  the 
confidence  of  the  natives,  that  tribes  at  open  enmity  with  each 
other  were  ready  to  repose  equal  confidence  in  the  Hudson 
Bay  factors. 

The  late  Paul  Kane,  author  of  Wanderi,\,gs  of  an  Artist 
among  the  Indians  of  North  America,  informed  me  that  when 
travelling  beyond  the  Eocky  Mountains  he  found  no  difficulty 
in  transmitting  his  correspondence  home,  even  when  among 
the  rudest  Flathead  savages.  His  packet,  entrusted  to  one  of 
the  tribe,  was  accompanied  with  a  small  gift  of  tol^acco,  and 
the  request  to  have  it  forwarded  to  Fort  Garry,  or  other 
Hudson  Bay  fort.  The  messenger — Cowlitz,  Chinook,  Nas- 
quallie,  or  other  Indian, — carried  it  to  the  frontier  of  his  own 
hunting-grounds,  and  then  sold  it  for  so  much  tobacco  to  some 
Indian  of  another  tribe ;  by  him  it  was  passed  on,  by  like 
process  of  barter,  till  it  crossed  the  Eocky  Mountains  into  the 
territory  of  the  Blackfeet,  the  Crees,  and  so  onward  to  its 
destination,  in  full  confidence  that  the  officers  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Fort  would  sustain  the  credit  of  the  White  Medicine-man 
(for  so  the  painter  was  regarded),  and  rede  n  the  packet  at  its 
full  value  in  tobacco  or  other  equivalent. 

The  personal  interests  of  the  little  bands  of  European  fur- 
traders  thus  settled  in  the  heart  of  a  wilderness,  and  sur- 
rounded by  savage  hunters,  no  less  strongly  prompted  them  to 
exclude  the  maddening  fire-water  from  the  vast  regions  under 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


313 


their  control.  Guns  and  ammunition,  kettles,  axes,  knives, 
beads,  and  other  trinkets,  with  the  no  less  prized  tobacco,  were 
abundantly  provided  for  barter.  Even  nails  and  the  iron 
hoops  of  their  barrels  were  traded  with  the  Indians,  and  dis- 
placed the  primitive  tomahawk  and  arrow  head  of  flint  or 
stone.  Thus,  curiously,  the  Stone  period  of  a  people  still  in 
the  most  primitive  stage  of  barbarism  has  been  superseded  by 
the  use  of  metals  obtained  solely  by  barter,  and  without  any 
advance  either  in  the  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  or  in  the 
masiery  of  the  arts  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  civilisa- 
tion. Long  before  the  advent  of  Europeans,  the  Chippeways 
along  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  had  been  familiar  with  the 
native  copper  which  abounds  there  in  the  condition  of  pure 
metal.  But  they  knew  it  only  as  a  kind  of  malleable  stone ; 
nor  have  they  even  now  learned  the  application  of  fire  in  their 
simple  metallurgic  processes.  The  root  of  their  names  for 
iron  and  copper  is  the  same  abstract  term,  wahhik,  used  only 
in  compound  words,  and  apparently  in  the  sense  of  rock  or 
stone.  Pewahhik  is  iron ;  ozahwahbik,  copper,  literally  the 
yellow  stone.  It  formed  no  part  of  the  Hudaon  Bay  traders' 
aim  to  advance  him  beyond  the  stage  of  a  savage  hunter.  It 
was  incompatible  with  the  interests  of  the  fur-trader  to  teach 
him  any  higher  use  of  the  ri^h  prairie  land  than  that  of 
a  wilderness  inhabited  by  fur-bearing  animals,  or  a  grazing 
ground  for  the  herds  of  buffalo  which  furnished  their  annual 
supply  of  pemmican ;  or  to  familiarise  him  with  more  of  the 
borrowed  arts  of  civilisation  than  helped  to  facilitate  the 
accumulation  of  peltries  in  the  factory  stores.  Hence  the 
intrusive  Europeans  and  the  native  tribes  met  on  common 
ground,  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits,  all  tending  to  foster  the 
habits  of  hunter  life ;  and  so  presenting  a  close  analogy  to  the 
condition  of  Europe  when,  in  its  Neolithic  age,  its  rude  hunter 
tribes  were  invaded  by  the  Aryans.  Thus  engaged  to  a  large 
extent  in  the  same  pursuits,  the  Whites  and  Indians  of  the 
Canadian  North -West  have  dwelt  together  for  successive 
generations  on  terms  of  comparative  equality,  and  with  results 
of  curious  interest,  hereafter  referred  to,  in  relation  to  the 
intermingling  of  the  races. 

In  the  long-seutled  provinces  of  Canada  it  has  been  other- 
wise.    There  the  aborigines  had  to  be  gathered  together  on 


H        41 


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HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


it- 


suitable  reserves,  and  induced  to  accommodate  themselves  in 
some  degree  to  the  habits  of  an  industrious  agricultural  popu- 
lation ;  or  to  be  driven  out,  to  wander  off  into  the  great 
hunting-grounds  of  the  uncleared  West.  The  exterminating 
native  wars,  which  preceded  the  settlement  of  Upper  Canada, 
greatly  facilitated  this ;  and  the  tribes  with  which  the  English 
colonists  of  Ontario  have  had  to  deal  have  been  for  the  most 
part  immigrants,  not  greatly  less  recent  than  themselves.  As 
to  the  Six  Nation  Indians  settled  on  the  Grand  Eiver  and  at 
the  Bay  of  Quints  (the  most  numerous  and  the  farthest 
advanced  in  civilisation  of  all  the  Indiana  in  the  British  pro- 
vinces), they  are  a  body  of  loyalist  refugees  who  followed  the 
fortunes  of  their  English  allies  on  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence by  the  revolted  Colonies;  and  there  is  now  in  use, 
at  the  little  Indian  Church  at  Tuscarova,  the  silver  Communion 
Plate  presented  to  their  ancestor;^;  \n  .;  still  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mohawk,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  the  gift  of  Her 
Majesty  Queen  Anne,  "  to  her  Indian  Chappel  of  the 
Mohawks."^ 

But  the  civilisation  which  has  thus  resulted  from  prolonged 
and  intimate  relations  with  the  Whites,  has  been  accompanied 
by  an  inevitable  admixture  of  blood,  of  which  the  results  are 
abundantly  manifest  in  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
Indian  settlers,  both  on  the  Grand  river  and  at  the  Bay  of 
Quint(5.  The  system  of  adopting  members  of  other  tribes, 
including  even  those  of  their  vanquished  foes,  to  recruit  their 
own  numbers,  was  practised  by  many  of  the  North  American 
tribes,  and  was  familiar  to  the  Iroquois,  or  Ir  .>is  of  the  Five 
Nations,  as  they  were  styled  before  the  .:  bion  of  the 
Tuscaroras  to  their  confederacy.  In  1649,  foi-  5  ..inple,  the 
survivors  of  two  of  the  Huron  towns  which  they  had  ravaged, 
besought  the  favour  of  the  victors,  and  were  adopted  into  the 
Seneca  nation.  Nor  did  extreme  differences  of  race  interfere 
with  affiliation,  as  in  the  case  of  children  kidnapped  from  the 
White  colonists  in  their  vicinity.  One  interesting  example  of 
the  latter  suffices  to  illustrate  the  extent  to  which  such  a 
process  tended  to  affect  the  ethnical  purity  of  the  race. 

In  the  year  1779,  while  the  Mohawks  still  dwelt  in  their 
native  valley  in  the  State  of  New  York,  Ste-nah,  a  white  girl, 

*  See  p.  290. 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


315 


then  about  twelve  years  of  age,  was  captured  in  one  of  their 
marauding  expeditions,  and  adopted  into  the  tribe.  In  1868, 
while  still  living,  she  was  described  to  me  by  an  educated 
Mohawk  India,  as  a  full-blood  Sko-ha-ra,  or  Dutchwoman.  She 
grew  up  among  her  captors,  accompanied  the  tribe  on  their 
removal  from  the  Mohawk  valley  to  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of 
Quints,  and  married  one  of  the  Mohawk  braves.  She  had 
reached  mature  years,  and  was  the  mother  of  Indian  children, 
when  an  aged  stranger  visited  the  reserve  in  search  of  his 
long-lost  daughter.  He  had  heard  of  a  captive  white  woman 
who  survived  among  the  emigrant  Mohawks  there,  and  was 
able,  by  certain  marks,  and  the  scar  of  a  wound  received  in 
childhood,  to  identify  his  long-lost  daughter.  But  the  discovery 
came  too  late.  As  my  Mohawk  informant  told  me,  she  had 
got  an  Indian  heart.  She  had,  indeed,  lost  her  native  tongue ; 
had  acquired  the  habits  and  sympathies  of  her  adopted  people ; 
and  coldly  repelled  the  advances  of  her  aged  father,  who  in 
vain  recalled  his  long-lost  daughter  Christina  in  the  Mohawk 
white -blood,  Ste-nah.  If  the  date  of  her  capture  and  her 
estimated  age  can  be  relied  on,  she  must  have  been  in  her 
hundred  and  fifth  year  at  the  time  of  her  death,  in  December 
1871.  I  have  received  through  one  of  her  grandsons — him- 
self a  Mohawk  chief, — a  genealogical  table  of  her  descendants, 
from  which  it  appears  that  there  are  at  the  present  time  fifty- 
seven  of  them  living  and  twenty -three  dead.  It  is  thus 
apparent,  that  by  the  adoption  of  a  single  White  captive  into 
the  tribe,  there  are,  in  the  fourth  generation,  fifty-seven  sur- 
vivors out  of  eighty  members  of  the  tribe,  all  of  them  of 
hybrid  character. 

Tiie  influence  of  a  single  case  of  admixture  of  White  blood, 
thus  followed  out  to  its  results  in  the  fourth  generation,  suffices 
to  show  how  largely  those  tribes  must  be  aftected  who  dwell 
for  any  length  of  time  in  close  vicinity  to  White  settlers,  and 
in  intimate  friendly  relations  witli  them.  The  earlier  French 
and  English  colonists,  like  the  Hudson  Bay  traders  of  later 
times,  were  mostly  young  adventurers,  without  wives,  and 
readily  entering  into  alliance  with  the  native  women.  The 
children  of  such  unions  were  admitted  to  a  perfect  equality 
with  the  Whites,  when  trained  up  in  their  settlements  ;  and  in 
the  older  period  of  French  and  English  rivalry  the   Indians 


•  * ,  . 


f« 


p 

I 

Li 

5* 


316 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


were  dealt  with  on  very  different  terms  from  those  with  which 
they  are  now  regarded,  though  even  yet  some  memory  of  older 
relations  survives. 

During  the  wars  between  the  French  and  English  colonists 
to  the  north  and  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  the  alliance  of  neighbouring  Indian 
tribes  was  courted ;  and  the  traditions  of  the  fidelity  of  the 
Hurons  to  the  French,  and  the  loyalty  of  the  Iroquois  to  the 
English,  are  cherished  as  incentives  to  the  fulfilment  of  obliga- 
tions entered  into  on  behalf  of  the  little  remnant  of  the  Huron 
nation  remaining  on  the  river  St.  Charles,  below  Quebec ;  and 
to  a  liberal  and  generous  policy  towards  the  Six  Nation 
Indians  settled  on  the  Grand  river  and  elsewhere  in  Western 
Canada. 

But  also  in  the  primitive  simplicity  of  border  life,  the  half- 
civilised  Indian  and  the  rude  settler  meet  on  common  ground ; 
and  in  some  cases  the  friendly  relations  established  between 
them  have  survived  the  more  settled  condition  of  agricultural 
progress  in  the  clearings.  In  this  respect  tbo  older  colonists 
of  Quebec  fraternised  far  more  readily  with  the  native  popula- 
tion than  has  been  the  case  with  English  settlers.  The  rela- 
tions in  which  the  early  French  colonists  stood  to  the  Indians 
of  Lower  Canada  bore  more  resemblance  to  those  of  the  fur- 
traders  of  the  North-West  in  later  times,  and  were  of  a  kindlier 
nature  than  those  of  the  intrusive  European  emigrants  of  the 
present  century.  Prior  to  the  accession  of  Louis  XIV.  to  the 
throne,  the  French  possessions  in  the  New  World  had  been 
regarded  as  little  more  than  a  hunting-ground  to  be  turned  to 
the  'same  account  as  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  territory; 
and  the  peopling  of  Canada  had  given  little  promise  of  perma- 
nent colonisation.  Priests  and  nuns  alone  varied  the  usual 
class  of  trading  adventurers  who  resort  to  a  young  colony. 
But  soon  after  the  King  reached  his  majority,  a  systematic 
shipment  of  emigrants  to  Canada  was  organised  under  the 
direction  of  Colbert ;  sundry  companies  of  soldiers  were  dis- 
banded in  the  colony;  and  then,  at  last,  the  necessity  of  find- 
ing wives  for  the  settlers  was  recognised.  Thereupon  a  system 
of  female  emigration,  with  bounties  on  marriage,  was  established. 
Colbert,  writing  to  the  Canadian  Intendant,  tells  him  that  the 
prosperity  of  the  people,  and  all  that  is  most  dear  to  them  as 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


317 


colonists,  depend  upon  their  securing  the  marriage  of  youths 
not  later  than  their  eighteenth  or  nineteenth  year  to  girls 
at  fourteen  or  fifteen  ;  and  the  next  step  was  to  impose  a 
fine  on  the  father  of  a  family  who  neglected  to  marry  his 
children  wlxen  they  reached  the  respective  ages  of  twenty 
and  sixteen. 

Up  to  this  period  the  native  women  had  chiefly  supplied 
wives  for  the  colonists ;  nor  was  this  element  now  ignored  or 
slighted.  In  the  Mimoire  sur  I'Etat  Present  du  Canada,  1667, 
it  is  stated :  "  At  this  time  it  was  believed  that  the  Indians, 
mingled  with  the  French,  might  become  a  valuable  part  of  the 
population.  The  reproductive  qualities  of  Indian  women  there- 
fore became  an  object  of  attention  to  Talon,  the  Eoyal  Inten- 
dant ;  and  he  reports  that  they  impair  their  fertility  by  nursing 
their  children  longer  than  is  needful ;  but,  he  adds,  '  this 
obstacle  to  the  speedy  building  up  of  the  colony  can  be  over- 
come by  regulations  of  police.' "  Thus  it  is  apparent  that  the 
strongest  encouragement  was  given  to  such  alliances. 

The  religious  element,  moreover,  among  a  purely  Eoman 
Catholic  population,  helped  to  foster  a  sense  of  equality  in  the 
case  of  the  Christianised  Indian ;  while  the  gentler  and  less 
progressive  habits  of  the  French  habitants  have  tended  to 
prevent  direct  collision  with  the  Indians  settled  in  their  midst. 
Hence  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  half-breeds,  and  men  and 
women  of  partial  Indian  blood,  are  frequently  to  be  met  with 
in  all  ranks  of  life ;  and  slighter  traces,  discernible  in  the  hair, 
the  eye,  the  cheek-bone,  and  peculiar  mouth,  as  well  as  certain 
traits  of  Indian  character,  suggest  to  the  close  observer  remote 
indications  of  the  same  admixture  of  blood. 

But  while  favouring  influences  in  national  character,  politi- 
cal institutions,  and  religion,  all  united  to  encourage  a  more 
friendly  intercourse  between  the  native  and  European  popula- 
tion of  Lower  Canada,  the  circumstances  attendant  on  the 
settlement  of  new  clearings  have  everywhere  led  in  some 
degree  to  similar  results ;  and  experience  abundantly  proves 
the  impossibility  of  preserving  distinct  two  races  living  in 
close  proximity  to  each  other. 

Throughout  the  old  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada, 
and  the  Maritime  Provinces,  where  the  aborigines  are  mostly 
congregated   on   reserves,  under  the    charge  of  Government 


"■■•"•■Jii 


I 


B  **•*]■,', 


Wm 


318 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


officers  of  the  Indian  Department,  they  appear,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, to  have  passed  the  critical  stage  of  transition  from  a 
nomadic  state  to  that  of  assimilation  to  the  habits  of  settled 
industry  of  the  "Whites. 

The  native  tribes  of  the  old  provinces  of  the  Dominion, 
though  bearing  a  variety  of  names,  may  all  be  classed  under 
the  two  essentially  distinct  groups  of  Algonkins  and  Iroquois. 
Under  the  former  head  properly  rank  the  Micmacs,  and  other 
tribes  of  Prince  Edward's  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Bruns- 
wick ;  and  the  Chippeways,  including  Ottawas,  Mississagas, 
Pottawattomies,  etc.,  of  Ontario.  Under  the  other  head  have 
to  be  placed  not  only  the  Six  Nations — Mohawks,  Oneidas, 
Onondagas,  Cayugas,  Senecas,  and  Tuscaroras, — but  also  the 
Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  both  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada; 
though  among  the  one  were  found  the  faithful  allies  of  the 
English,  while  the  other  adhered  persistently  to  the  French ; 
and  to  the  deadly  enmity  between  them  was  due  the  expulsion 
of  the  Hurons  from  their  ancient  territory  on  the  Georgian 
Bay,  and  the  extermination  of  all  but  an  insignificant  remnant, 
including  the  refugees  on  the  St.  Charles  river,  below  Quebec. 

The  Canadian  census  of  1871  includes  the  aborigines  in 
the  enumeration  of  the  population  of  the  Dominion,  and  states 
the  grand  total  of  the  Indians  of  the  Provinces  of  Quebec, 
Ontario,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick,  at  23,035. 

That  the  Indian  population,  gathered  on  their  own  reserved 
lands  under  the  care  of  Government  superintendents,  is  not 
diminishing  in  numbers,  appears  to  be  universally  admitted. 
But  as,  at  the  same  time,  the  pure  race  is  being  largely  replaced 
by  younger  generations  of  mixed  blood,  the  results  cannot  be 
looked  upon  as  encouraging  the  hope  of  perpetuating  the  native 
Indian  race  under  such  exceptional  conditions ;  nor  can  it  be 
overlooked  that  the  increase  is  partly  begot  by  the  addition  of 
a  foreign  element.  At  best  the  results  point  rather  to  such  a 
process  of  absorption  as  appears  to  be  the  inevitable  result 
wherever  a  race,  alike  inferior  in  numbers  and  in  progressive 
energy,  escapes  extirpation  at  the  hands  of  the  intruders. 

In  the  boyhood  of  the  older  generation  of  Toronto,  hundreds 
of  Indians,  including  those  of  the  old  Mississaga  tribe,  wee  to 
be  seen  about  the  streets.  Now,  at  rare  intervals,  two  or  three 
squaws,  in  round    hats,  blue  blankets,  and  Indian  leggings. 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


319 


attract  attention  less  by  their  features  than  their  dress ;  for  in 
complexion  they  are  nearly  as  white  as  those  of  pure  European 
descent.  The  same  is  the  case  on  all  the  oldest  Indian  re- 
serves. The  Hurons  of  Lorette,  whose  forefathers  were  brought 
to  Lower  Canada  after  the  massacre  of  their  nation  by  the 
Iroquois  in  1649,  are  reported  to  have  considerably  increased 
in  numbers  in  the  interval  between  1844  and  the  last  census. 
But  while  the  Commissioners  refer  to  them  as  a  band  of  Indians 
"  the  most  advanced  in  civilisation  in  the  whole  of  Canada," 
they  add  that  "  they  have,  by  the  intermixture  of  White  blood, 
so  far  lost  the  original  purity  of  race  as  scarcely  to  be  con- 
sidered as  Indians."  In  their  case  this  admixture  with  the 
European  race  has  been  protracted  through  a  period  of  upwards 
of  two  centuries,  till  they  have  lost  their  Indian  language,  and 
substituted  for  it  a  French  patois.  Were  it  not  for  their 
hereditary  right  to  a  share  in  certain  Indian  funds,  which 
furnishes  an  inducement  to  perpetuate  their  descent  from  the 
Huron  nation,  they  would  long  since  have  merged  in  the  com- 
mon stock.  Yet  the  results  would  not  thereby  have  been 
eradicated,  but  only  lost  sight  of.  Their  baptismal  registers 
and  genealogical  traditions  supply  the  record  of  a  practical, 
though  undesigned,  experiment  as  to  the  influence  of  hybridity 
on  the  perpetuation  of  the  race,  and  show  the  mixed  descend- 
ants of  Huron  and  I'rench  blood  still,  after  a  lapse  of  upwards 
of  two  centuries,  betraying  no  traces  of  a  tendency  towards 
infertility  or  extinction. 

In  the  Maritime  Provinces  the  Micmacs  are  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  aboriginal  owners  of  the  soil.  Small  encamp- 
ments of  them  may  be  encountered  in  summer  on  the  Lower 
St.  Lawrence,  busily  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  staves, 
barrel-hoops,  axe-handles,  and  baskets  of  various  kinds,  which 
they  dispose  of,  with  much  shrewdness,  to  the  traders  of  Quebec, 
and  the  smaller  towns  on  the  Gulf.  So  far  as  I  have  seen,  the 
pure-blood  Micmac  has  more  of  the  dark-red,  in  contrast  to  the 
prevalent  olive  hue,  than  other  Indians.  But  the  Micmacs  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  reveal  the  same  evidence  of 
inevitable  amalgamation  with  the  predominant  race  as  else- 
where. The  Eev.  S.  T.  Band — a  devoted  missionary  labouring 
among  the  Indians  of  Nova  Scotia, — on  being  asked  to 
obtain  a  photograph  of   a  pure -blood  representative  of  the 


;'4 

.,  ■> 

1' 

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41 

,  if'*' 


320 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


tribe,  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  a  single  example,  and 
stated  that  not  one  is  to  be  found  among  the  younger 
generation. 

In  the  old  provinces  the  Indians  are  in  the  minority ;  but 
the  same  process  is  apparent  where  little  bands  of  pioneers 
leave  the  settled  provinces  and  states  to  begin  new  clearings, 
or  to  engage  in  the  adventurous  life  of  hunters  and  trappers 
in  the  far  West.  The  hunter  finds  a  bride  among  the  native 
women;  and  when  at  length  the  wild  tribe  recedes  before  the 
growing  clearing  and  the  diminished  supplies  of  game,  it  not 
only  leaves  behind  a  half-breed  population  as  the  nucleus  of 
the  civilised  community,  but  it  also  carries  away  with  it  a  like 
element,  increasingly  affecting  the  ethnical  character  of  the 
whole  tribe. 

The  same  circumstances  have  continued,  in  every  frontier 
settlement,  to  involve  the  inevitable  production  of  a  race  of 
half-breeds.  Even  the  cvuellest  exterminations  of  hostile  tribes 
have  rarely  been  carried  out  so  effectually  as  to  preclude  this. 
In  New  England,  for  example,  after  the  desolating  war  of 
1637,  which  resulted  in  the  extinction  of  the  Pequot  trib*;, 
Winthrop  thus  summarily  records  the  policy  of  the  victors : 
"  We  seut  the  male  children  to  Bermuda  by  Mr,  William 
Pierce,  and  the  women  and  maid  children  are  disposed  about 
in  the  towns."  Such  a  female  population  could  not  grow  up 
in  a  young  colony,  with  the  wonted  preponderance  of  males, 
and  leave  no  traces  in  subsequent  generations. 

Seeing,  then,  that  the  meeting  of  two  types  of  humanity  so 
essentially  distinct  as  the  European  and  the  native  Indian  of 
America,  has,  for  upwards  of  three  centuries,  led  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  hybrid  race,  it  becomes  an  interesting  question, 
What  has  been  the  ultimate  result?  Has  the  mixed  breed 
proved  infertile,  and  so  disappeared ;  has  it  perpetuated  a  new 
and  permanent  type  of  intermediate  characteristics ;  or  has  it 
been  absorbed  into  the  predominant  European  race  without 
leaving  traces  of  this  foreign  element  ?  These  questions  are 
not  without  their  significance  even  in  reference  to  the  policy  in 
dealing  with  the  Indian  settlements  in  old  centres  of  popula- 
tion ;  for  the  traces  of  this  intermingling  of  the  races  of  the 
Old  and  New  World  are  neither  limited  to  frontier  settlements 
nor  to  Indian  reserves. 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


331 


Among  Canadiaus  of  mixed  blood  there  are  men  at  the 
Bar  and  in  the  Legislature,  in  the  Church,  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession, holding  rank  in  the  array,  in  aldermanic  and  other 
civic  offices,  and  engaged  in  active  trade  and  commerce.  A 
curious  case  was  recently  brought  before  the  law  courts  in 
Ontario.  A  son  of  the  chief  of  the  Wyandot  Indians  settled 
in  Western  Canada,  left  the  reserves  of  his  tribe,  engaged  in 
business,  and  acquired  a  large  amount  of  real  estate  and  per- 
sonal property.  He  won  for  himself,  moreover,  such  general 
respect  that  he  was  elected  Eeeve  of  Anderdon  by  a  consider- 
able majority  over  a  White  candidate.  Thereupon  his  rival 
applied  to  have  him  unseated,  on  the  plea  that  a  person  of 
Indian  blood  was  not  a  citizen  in  the  eye  of  the  law.  Fortu- 
nately the  judge  took  a  common-sense  view  of  the  case,  and 
decided  that  as  he  held  a  sufficient  property-qualification  within 
the  county,  the  election  was  valid. 

That  an  Indian  ceases  to  be  such  in  the  eye  of  the  law, 
and  in  all  practical  relations  to  society,  when  he  becomes  an 
educated  industrious  member  of  the  general  community,  and 
competes  not  only  for  its  privileges  but  for  its  highest  honours,  is 
inevitable.  But  it  is  not  with  the  Indian  as  with  the  Negro 
mixed  race.  The  privileges  and  the  disabilii  s  of  the  Indian 
ward  may  both  be  cast  off;  but  a  certain  degree  of  romance 
attaches  to  Indian  blood,  when  accompanied  with  the  culture 
and  civilisation  of  the  European.  The  descendants  of  Brant 
and  other  distinguished  native  chiefs  are  still  proud  to  claim 
their  lineage,  where  the  physical  traces  of  such  an  ancestry 
would  escape  the  eye  of  a  common  observer.  Traces  of  Indian 
descent  may  be  recognised  among  ladies  of  attractive  refine- 
ment and  intelligence,  and  with  certain  mental  as  well  as 
physical  traits  which  add  to  the  charm  of  their  society.  Simi- 
lar indications  of  the  blood  of  the  aborigines  are  familiar  to 
Canadians  in  the  gay  assemblies  of  a  Governor-General's  recep- 
tions, in  the  halls  of  Legislature,  in  the  diocesan  synods  and 
other  ecclesiastical  assemblies,  and  amongst  the  undergraduates 
of  Canadian  universities. 

But  the  condition  of  men  and  women  of  mixed  bloody 
admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  and  mingling  in 
perfect  equality  with  all  other  members  of  the  community,  is 
in  striking  contrast  to  that  of  the  occupants  of  the  Indian 


-:^i 


4i 


fir 


■.^'*l 


¥.f 


322 


hYBRlDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


reserves,  where  they  are  settled,  for  the  most  part  in  isolated 
bands,  in  the  midst  of  a  progressive  White  population.  Such 
a  condition  is  manifestly  an  unfavourable  one,  and  one,  more- 
over, which  cannot  be  regarded  as  other  than  transitional. 
They  are  confessedly  dealt  with  as  wards,  in  a  state  of 
pupilage. 

A  growing  sense  of  the  necessity  for  some  modification  of 
this  system  has  been  felt  for  a  considerable  time ;  and  in 
1867  "An  Act  to  encourage  the  gradual  Civilisation  of  the 
Indian  Tribes,"  received  the  royal  assent.  This  Act  avowedly 
aims  at  the  "  gradual  removal  of  all  legal  distinctions  between 
them  and  Her  Majesty's  other  Canadian  subjects ;  and  to 
facilitate  the  acquisition  of  property,  and  of  the  rights  accom- 
panying it,  by  such  individual  members  of  the  said  tribes 
as  shall  be  found  to  desire  such  encouragement,  and  to  have 
deserved  it." 

That  the  ultimate  result  of  this  will  involve  the  disap])ear- 
ance  of  the  Indian  as  a  distinct  race  is  inevitable.  He  will  be 
absorbed  into  the  dominant  race  ;  not  to  be  displaced  or  driven 
out  of  the  community ;  but  to  be  perpetuated,  as  the  precur- 
sors of  the  blonde  Aryans  of  Europe  still  survive  in  the 
"  dark  Whites"  that  now,  in  undisputed  equality,  enjoy  all  the 
rights  of  citizenship  of  a  common  race.  They  will  indeed  con- 
stitute but  a  small  remnant  of  the  nations  of  Euramerican 
blood.  That  whole  tribes  and  peoples  of  the  American 
aborigines  have  been  exterminated  in  the  process  of  colonisa- 
tion of  the  New  World  is  no  more  to  be  questioned,  than  that 
a  similar  result  followed  from  the  Koman  conquest  and  colo- 
nisation of  Britain.  Nevertheless,  long  and  careful  study  of 
the  subject  has  satisfied  me  that  a  larger  amount  of  absorption 
of  the  Indian  into  the  Anglo-American  race  has  occun'ed  than 
is  generally  recognised. 

Fully  to  appreciate  this,  it  is  necessary  to  retrace  the  course 
of  events  by  which  America  has  been  transferred  to  the  de- 
scendants of  European  colonists.  At  every  fresh  stage  of 
colonisation,  or  of  pioneering  into  the  wild  West,  the  work 
has  necessarily  been  accomplished  by  hardy  young  adven- 
turers, or  the  hunters  or  trappers  of  the  clearing.  It  is  rare 
indeed  for  such  to  be  accompanied  by  wives  or  daughters. 
Where  they  find  a  home  they  take  to  themselves  wives  from 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


323 


among  the  native  women ;  and  their  offspring'  share  in  what- 
ever advantages  the  father  transphmts  with  him  to  this  home 
in  the  wilderness.  To  such  mingling  of  blood,  in  its  least 
favourable  aspects,  the  prejudices  of  the  Indian  present  little 
obstacle.  Henry,  in  his  narrative  of  travel  among  the  Cris- 
tineaux  on  Lake  Winipagoos  upwards  of  a  century  ago,  after 
describing  the  dress  and  allurements  of  the  women,  adds : 
"  One  of  the  chiefs  assured  me  that  the  cliildren  borne  by  their 
women  to  Europeans  were  bolder  warriors  and  better  hunters 
than  themselves."  This  idea  recurs  in  various  forms.  The 
half-breed  lumberers  and  trappers  are  valued  throughout  Canada 
for  their  hardihood  and  patient  endurance ;  the  half-breed 
hunters  and  trappers  are  equally  esteemed  in  the  Hudson 
Bay  territory ;  and  beyond  their  remotest  forts  Dr.  Kane  re- 
ported, as  his  experiei'ce  within  the  Arctic  circle,  that  "  the 
half-breeds  of  the  coast  rival  the  Esquimaux  in  their  powers  of 
endurance." 

Mr.  Charles  Horetski^y,  in  his  Canada  on  the  Pacific,  after 
remarking  on  the  well-known  fact  that  Japanese  junks  have 
been  known  to  drift  on  to  the  Pacific  coast  of  America,  and  so 
contribute  new  elements  of  Mongolian  character  to  the  native 
population,  thus  proceeds  to  notice  another  element  of  hy- 
bridity.  "  There  is,"  he  says,  "  another  mixture  in  the  blood 
on  the  west  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  a  very  marked  one 
— the  Spanish,  owing  to  the  Spaniards  having  long  had  a 
settlement  at  Nootka.  Strangely  enough,  the  Spanish  cast  of 
countenance  does  not  show  in  the  women,  who  have  the  same 
flat  features  as  their  sifiters  to  the  eastward.  Nor  is  it  so 
noticeable  among  the  young  men,  many  of  whom,  however, 
have  beards — a  most  unusual  appendage  among  American 
Indians,  and  of  course  traceable  to  the  cause  referred  to.  The 
features  are  more  observable  among  the  older  men,  many  of 
whom,  with  their  long,  narrow,  pointed  faces  and  beards,  would, 
if  washed,  present  very  fair  models  for  Don  Quixote."  Within 
the  region  of  Alaska,  Eussian  traders  have  contributed  another 
element  to  the  mingling  of  races ;  and  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Dall,  in 
his  Alaska  and  its  Resources,  states  specifically  the  number  of  the 
Creoles  or  half-breeds  of  that  region  as  1421.  But  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  society  there  favours  their  increase.  In  1842, 
they  were,  for  the  first  time,  qualified  to  enter  the  Church  as 


'    i 
■»jl 

1 


-.11 


334 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


priests;  and  in  1865,  the  American  Expedition  found  Ivan 
Pavloff,  the  son  of  a  Russian  father  and  a  native  woman  ui 
Kenai,  filling  the  office  of  Bidarsliik,  or  conunander  of  the  po.st 
at  Nulato.  He  was  legally  married  to  a  full-blooded  Indian 
woman,  by  whom  he  had  a  large  family. 

Another  intrusive  element,  that  of  the  Asiatic  Mongol,  has 
awakened  alarm  for  the  possible  future  of  the  white  race  of 
settlers,  both  in  America  and  in  Australia.  In  1875  the 
number  of  Chinese  in  California  amounted  to  130,000; 
19,000  arrived  in  a  single  year.  They  speedily  made  their 
way  to  tlie  New  England  States,  and  to  Eastern  Canada ;  till  it 
has  been  deemed  politic  to  forbid  further  immigration.  It  is 
the  intrusion  of  a  type  approximating  to  the  American  Mongol, 
and  so  has  a  special  interest  in  its  bearing  on  the  ethnology 
of  the  continent ;  for  here  we  see  the  approximate  types  of 
Asia  and  America  brought  into  contact,  it  may  be  as  descend- 
ants of  a  common  stock,  separated  through  unnumbered 
centuries  by  untraversed  oceans. 

The  Indians  of  Vancouver  '  >nd  and  British  Columbia 
were  estimated  in  1860  to  num  5,000.     The  observations 

of  Paul  Kane  in  1846  showed  that  a  considerable  half-breed 
population  already  existed  then  in  the  vicinity  of  every  Hud- 
son Bay  fort.  But  at  the  later  date  the  reported  richness  of 
the  gold-diggings  was  attracting  hundreds  of  settlers ;  and  as 
usual,  in  such  cases,  nearly  all  males.  The  admixture  of  blood 
with  the  native  population  consequent  on  such  a  social  con- 
dition is  inevitable ;  and  though  such  a  population  is  least 
likely  to  leave  behind  it  any  permanent  traces  among  settled 
civilised  colonists,  yet  the  condition  of  things  which  it  presents 
illustrates  the  social  life  of  every  frontier  settlement  of  the 
New  World.  Everywhere  the  colonisation  of  the  outlying 
territory  begins  with  a  migration  of  males,  and  by  and  by  the 
cry  comes  from  Australia,  Canada,  and  elsewhere,  for  stimulated 
female  emigration.  It  is  a  state  of  things  old  as  the  dis- 
persion of  the  human  race,  and  typified  in  such  ancient  legends 
as  the  Eoman  Rape  of  the  Sabines.  The  abstract  of  the 
United  States  census  of  1860  showed  that  the  old  settled 
states  of  New  England  are  affected  even  more  than  European 
countries  by  this  inevitable  source  of  the  disparity  of  the 
sexes.     In  Massachusetts,  at  that  date,  the  females  outnum- 


J^if 


HYliRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


325 


bered  tluf  males  by  upwards  of  37,000  ;  while  in  Indiana,  on 
the  contrary,  they  fell  short  of  the  males  by  48,000. 

In  the  latter  case,  on  a  frontier  state,  where  the  services  of 
the  Indian  women  must  necessarily  be  courted  in  any  attempt 
at  domestic  life,  intermixture  between  the  native  and  intruding 
races  is  inevitable,  and  tlie  feeling  with  which  it  is  regarded 
finds  expression  constantly  through  the  genuine  New  World 
lyrics  of  Joaquin  Miller,  with  his  "  brown  bride  won  from  an 
Indian  town  " — 

Where  some  were  blonde  and  some  were  brown, 
And  all  as  brave  as  Sioux. 

Thus  the  same  process  still  repeats  itself  along  the  widening 
frontier  of  the  far  West,  which  has  been  in  operation  on  the 
American  continent  from  the  days  of  Columbus  and  Cabot. 
Hardy  bands  of  pioneer  adventurers,  or  the  solitary  hunter  and 
trapper,  wander  forth  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  prairie  or 
savage-haunted  fc  st,  and  to  such,  an  Indian  bride  proves 
the  fittest  mate.  Of  the  mixed  offspring  a  portion  cling  to  the 
fortunes  of  the  mother's  race,  and  are  involved  in  its  fate ; 
but  more  adhere  to  those  of  the  white  father,  share  with  him 
the  vicissitudes  of  border  life,  and  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
first  nucleus  of  a  settled  community.  As  the  border  land 
slowly  recedes  into  the  further  West,  new  settlers  crowd  into 
the  clearing ;  the  little  cluster  of  primitive  log-huts  grows  up 
into  the  city,  perhaps  the  capital  of  a  state,  and  with  a  new 
generation  the  traces  of  Indian  blood  are  wellnigh  forgotten. 
If  any  portion  of  the  aboriginal  owners  of  the  soil  linger  in  the 
neighbourhood,  they  are  no  less  affected  by  the  predominant 
intruding  race. 

The  transfer  of  the  rich  prairie  lands  of  the  great  North- 
West  from  the  care  of  Hudson  Bay  factors  and  trappers,  the 
organisation  of  it  into  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  and  the 
territories  already  in  preparation  for  new  provinces,  under  the 
government  of  their  own  legislatures,  has  necessarily  brought 
to  an  end  the  condition  of  things  so  favourable  to  friendly 
relations  between  the  White  and  Eed  races.  The  region, 
moreover,  is  now  traversed  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway ; 
and  the  herds  of  buffalo,  on  which  the  Indian  mainly  depended 
for  his  supplies  of  food,  fur  robes,  and  teepe  skins,  have  finally 


^■* 


{ 

i 

1 

326 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


f 


h'i' 


disappeared.  Railways,  telegraph  lines,  and  other  appliances 
of  civilisation  are  equally  incompacible  with  the  existence  of 
t.j  wild  buffalo  and  the  wild  Indian.  The  former  inevitably 
vanished  from  the  scene.  It  remains  to  be  seen  if  the  latter 
can  adapt  himself  to  the  novel  conditions  of  such  an  environ- 
ment. 

As  some  preparation  for  the  inevitable  revolution,  the 
half-breeds,  already  numbering  thousands,  accustomed  to  mingle 
on  perfect  equality  with  the  Whites,  and  trained  in  some 
partial  degree  to  agricultural  industry,  entered  on  the  possession 
of  farms  allotted  to  them  by  the  Government.  But  such  a 
transitional  stage,  forced  into  premature  development,  could 
scarcely  be  expected  to  pass  through  all  its  revolutionary  stages 
without  a  conflict,  and  clashing  of  interests  ;  and  the  efforts  of 
the  Dominion  Government  to  deal  with  this  novel  condition  of 
tilings  were  only  partially  successful.  But  perhaps  the  most 
notable  feature  in  the  results  has  been  that  the  chief  difficulty 
was,  not  with  the  wild  tribes  transferred  from  the  manage- 
ment of  the  fur- traders  to  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  the 
Government,  but  with  the  half-breeds,  claiming  civil  rights, 
and  jealously  resenting  encroachments  on  lands  app.opriated 
for  their  own  settlement. 

The  reports  of  the  Indian  Department  supply  interesting 
glimpses  of  the  process  of  adjustment  with  the  various  tribes 
of  natives  reluctantly  yielding  to  the  new  condition  of  things. 
Returns  made  to  an  address  of  the  House  of  Commons  at 
Ottawa,  dated  March  1873,  disclose  the  jealousies  and  sus- 
picions of  the  native  tribes,  and  tlie  anxiety  evinced  by  the 
Government  officials  to  remove  all  'ust  grounds  of  complaint. 
Mr.  Beatty,  a  contractor  for  certain  surveys  on  the  Upper 
Assiniboine,  reports  that  the  Portage  Indians,  under  their 
chief,  Yellow  Quill,  had  absolutely  forbidden  any  survey  of 
tlieir  lands,  and  driven  him  and  his  party  off"  the  field.  The 
Lieutenant-Governor  thereafter  held  an  interview  with  Yellow 
Quill  and  a  party  of  his  braves,  and  after  a  long  poxo-wow 
succeeded  in  pacifying  him.  Again,  a  party  of  about  two 
thousand  Sioux  are  reported  to  have  left  in  high  dudgeon, 
with  a  tlireat  to  return  in  force  next  spring ;  and  the  Hon. 
Alexander  Morris — now  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Manitoba — 
writes  to  the  Provincial  Secretary  at  Ottawa,  that  "  The  lied 


HYIUUDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


327 


Lake  Indians  on  the  American  side  have  been  sending 
tobacco  to  the  Sioux  in  our  territory,  as  it  is  believed,  with 
the  view  of  common  action  with  regard  to  the  Boundary 
Survey."  For  the  settlement  of  provinces,  and  the  surveying 
of  the  prairie  for  disposal  to  its  new  occupants,  had  necessi- 
tated the  determination  of  a  well-defined  bounda^-y  between 
the  Canadiaix  territories  and  those  of  the  United  States. 
Only  a  few  years  had  elapsed  since  the  State  of  Minnesota 
was  desolated  by  a  cruel  war,  carried  on  by  the  Sioux  at  the 
instigation,  as  was  then  affirmed,  of  Southern  agents,  with  a 
view  to  a  diversion  in  favour  of  the  South  during  the  great 
Civil  War.  A  large  number  of  the  Sioux  have  since  crossed 
the  boundary,  and  settled  within  the  British  lines ;  and  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Morris  writes  from  Fort  Garry  in  December  last : 
"  Some  of  the  Sioux  assist  the  white  settlers  as  labourers  in 
the  summer.  They  have  asked  for  land,  and  were  led  to 
believe  that  they  would  be  assigned  a  reserve,  and,  if  so,  they 
would  plant  crops,  and  could  then  be  removed  from  the  settle- 
ment." But  Mr.  Morris  specially  draws  the  attention  of  the 
provincial  authorities  to  the  excited  state  apparent  among  all 
the  Western  tribes,  and  adds  :  "  I  believe  it  to  be  in  part 
created  by  the  Boundary  Commission.  They  do  not  under- 
stand it,  and  think  the  two  nations  are  uniting  against  them." 
The  difficulties,  however,  were  overcome  ;  and  the  reports  of 
the  Indian  agents  contain  some  curious  illustrations  of  the 
difficulties  inevitable  in  the  first  attempt  at  transforming  wild 
Indian  tribes  into  prairie  farmers.  One  of  them  thus  writes : 
"  The  full  demands  of  the  Indians  cannot  be  complied  with  ; 
but  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  certain  paradox  in  asking  a  wild 
Indian,  who  has  hitherto  gained  his  livelihood  by  hunting  and 
trapping,  to  settle  down  on  a  reservation  and  cultivate  the 
land,  without  at  the  same  time  offering  him  some  means  of 
making  his  living.  As  they  say  themselves  :  '  We  cannot 
tear  down  the  trees  and  build  huts  with  our  teeth,  we  cannot 
break  the  prairie  with  our  hands,  nor  reap  the  harvest,  if  we 
had  grown  it,  with  our  knives.' "  But  even  among  the  wild 
tribes  of  the  prairies  a  great  diversity  in  habits,  and  in 
aptitude  for  the  new  life  now  forced  upon  them  as  their  only 
chance  of  survival,  is  apparent.  The  Portage  Indians  clung 
to  their  old  stotus    as    hunters  living  in  their   buffalo-skin 


328 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


lodges  on  the  prairies  ;  the  St,  Peter  Indi°  is  form  permanent 
settlements,  not  only  of  birch-bark  wigwams,  but  many  of 
them  have  built  log-houses  for  themselves.  Even  among  the 
tribes  already  settling  down  to  steady  agricultural  labour,  such 
as  the  Saulteux  and  the  Swampies  of  Manitoba,  a  very  great 
difference  both  in  sentiments  and  customs  prevail.  Thirty- 
four  Indian  families  from  one  tribe  in  Pembina  are  reported 
by  the  agent  as  demanding  their  allocation  of  farms ;  the 
chiefs  and  headmen  of  other  tribes  are  in  negotiation  for 
farming  implements,  stock,  etc.,  and  some  of  their  demands 
curiously  illustrate  the  form  in  which  the  new  life  thus 
opening  up  to  them  presents  its  most  tempting  aspects. 
Hoes,  axes,  and  other  indispensable  implements  have  been 
readily  granted  to  them.  Ploughs,  harrows,  and  oxen  are  in 
request,  and  have  been  conceded  or  promised  where  the 
Government  agent  is  satisfied  that  they  will  be  turned  to 
good  account.  But  in  special  demand  is  "  a  bull  and  cow  for 
each  chief,  and  a  boar  for  each  reserve."  The  incipient  idea 
of  the  stock  farm  is  indeed  apparent  in  the  universal  demand 
of  all :  "A  promise,"  says  one  of  the  agents,  "  which  the 
Indians  never  omit  to  mention,  that  they  shall  be  supplied 
with  a  male  and  female  of  each  animal  used  by  a  farmer." 
But  the  transformation  of  the  wild  hunter  into  an  industrious 
agriculturist  is  a  difficult  process ;  and  even  in  the  new 
generation,  born  under  such  changed  conditions,  the  Indian 
boy  shows  much  greater  aptitude  for  mechanical  employments  ; 
and  takes  more  readily  to  the  work  of  the  carpenter  than  to 
that  of  tilling  the  soil,  which,  so  long  as  the  Indian  was  its 
lord,  was  practised  exclusively  by  the  women  of  the  tribe. 

Could  the  older  condition  of  interblended  prairie  life  have 
been  sufficiently  long  perpetuated,  the  results  would  far  more 
fully  have  presented  results  in  close  analogy  to  the  inter- 
mingling of  Europe's  aboriginal  and  Aryan  races  in  pre- 
historic times.  A  settlement  begun  by  Lord  Selkirk  in  1811, 
was  formed  on  the  Eed  River  within  the  area  now  embraced 
in  the  Province  of  Manitoba.  It  consisted  of  hardy  Orkney 
men  and  Sutherlandshire  Highlanders  ;  and  on  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  North- West  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Companies, 
the  settlement  received  considerable  additions  to  its  numbers. 
When  at  length  the  great  fur  Companies'  supremacy  came  to 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


329 


<»I.| 


an  end,  the  community  numbered  upwards  of  two  thousand 
wliites,  chiefly  occupied  in  farming,  or  in  the  service  of  the 
Company.  At  a  later  date,  another  settlement  was  formed  on 
the  Assiniboiue  river,  chiefly  by  French  Canadians.  In 
those,  as  at  the  forts  and  trading-posts  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company,  the  settlers  consisted  chiefly  of  young  men.  They 
had  no  choice  but  to  wed  or  cohabit  with  the  Indian  women  ; 
and  the  result  has  been,  not  only  the  growth  of  a  half-breed 
population  greatly  out-numbering  the  Whites,  but  the  forma- 
tion of  a  tribe  of  half-breeds,  divided  into  two  distinct  bands, 
according  to  their  Scottish  or  French  paternity,  who  kept 
themselves  distinct  in  manners,  habits,  and  allegiance,  alike 
from  the  Whites  and  the  Indians. 

This  rise  of  an  independent  half-breed  tribe  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  results  of  the  great,  though  undesigned, 
ethnological  experiment  which  has  been  in  progress  ever  since 
the  meeting  of  the  diverse  races  of  the  Old  and  New  World 
on  the  continent  of  America  ;  and  when  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances which  favoured  this  result  came  to  an  end,  it  became 
a  matter  of  great  interest  to  note  the  most  striking  phases 
presented  by  it,  before  they  are  effaced  by  the  influx  of 
European  emigration.  I  accordingly  printed  and  circulated 
as  widely  as  possible  a  set  of  queries  relative  to  the  Indian 
and  half-breed  p(  pulation  both  of  Canada  and  the  Hudson 
Bay  territory  ;  and  from  the  returns  made  to  me  by  Hudson 
Bay  factors,  missionaries,  and  others,  most  of  the  following 
results  are  derived.  The  number  of  the  settled  population, 
either  half-breed  or  more  or  less  of  Indian  blood,  in  Ked 
River  and  the  surrounding  settlements  was  about  7200. 
The  intermarriage  there  has  been  chiefly  with  Indian  women 
of  the  plain  Crees,  though  alliances  also  occur  with  the 
Swampies  (another  branch  of  the  Crees),  and  with  Sioux, 
Chippeway,  and  Blackfeet  women.  But  the  most  noticeable 
differences  are  traceable  to  the  white  paternity.  The  French 
half-breeds  have  more  demonstrativeness  and  vivacity,  but 
they  are  reported  to  take  less  readily  to  the  steady  drudgery 
of  the  farm  than  those  of  Scotch  descent.  But,  at  best,  the 
temptations  of  a  border  settlement,  with  its  buffalo  hunts  and 
its  chief  market  for  peltries,  were  little  calculated  to  develop 
the   industrious   habits    of   a   settled   community ;    and   the 


■^ 


••M 


■■?i 


•ll 


'.  1 


330 


HYRRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


intrusion  of  farmers  from  the  old  provinces,  and  immigrants 
from  Europe,  ignorant  of  their  habits  and  wholly  indifferent 
to  their  interests,  necessarily  interfered  with  the  healthful 
process  of  transformation  into  a  settled  industrious  community 
of  civilised  half-breeds. 

Some  of  the  results  elicited  by  the  inquiries  are  of  value 
in  their  bearing  on  the  question  of  mixed  races,  and  the 
apparent  tendency  to  develop  permanent  varieties ;  and  all 
the  more  so  as  the  data  thus  obtained  show  the  condition  of 
the  North-West  community  immediately  prior  to  the  formation 
of  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  and  the  inauguration  of  the 
revolution  which  inevitably  followed  in  its  train.  The  half- 
breeds  are  a  large  and  robust  race,  with  greater  powers  of 
endurance  than  the  native  Indian.  Mr.  S.  J.  Dawson,  of  the 
Eed  Kiver  Exploring  Expedition,  speaks  of  the  French  half- 
breeds  as  a  gigantic  race  as  compared  with  the  French 
Canadians  of  Lower  Canada.  Professor  Hind  refers  in 
equally  strong  language  to  their  great  physical  powers  and 
vigorous  muscular  developments  ;  and  the  venerable  Arch- 
deacon Hunter,  of  Eed  River,  replied  in  answer  to  my 
inquiry :  "  In  what  respects  do  the  half-breed  Indians  differ 
from  the  pure  Indians  as  to  habits  of  life,  courage,  strengtli, 
increase  of  numbers,  etc.  ? "  "  They  are  superior  in  every 
respect,  both  mentally  and  physically."  Much  concurrent 
evidence  points  to  the  fact  that  the  families  descended  from 
mixed  parentage  are  larger  than  those  of  the  whites  ;  and 
though  the  results  are  in  some  degree  counteracted  by  a 
tendency  to  consumption,  yet  it  does  not  amount  to  such  a 
source  of  diminution  on  the  whole  as  to  interfere  with  their 
steady  numerical  increase.  One  of  the  questions  circulated 
by  me  was  in  this  form :  "  State  any  facts  tending  to  prove  or 
disprove  that  the  offspring  descended  from  mixed  White  and 
Indian  blood  fails  in  a  few  generations."  To  this  the  Eev. 
J.  Gilmour  answered  :  "  I  know  many  large  and  healthy 
families  of  partial  Indian  blood,  and  have  formed  the  opinion 
that  they  are  likely  to  perpetuate  a  hardy  race."  The  vener- 
able Archdeacon  Hunter,  familiar  ^  with  the  facts  by  long 
residence  as  a  clergyman  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church 
among  the  mixed  population  of  the  Eed  Eiver  Settlement, 
answered  still  more  decidedly  :  "  The  offspring  descended  from 


:l 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


331 


mixed  White  and  Indian  blood  does  not  fail,  but,  generally 
speaking,  by  intermarriages  it  becomes  very  difficult  to 
determine  whether  they  are  pure  Whites  or  half-breeds." 
Living,  however,  for  many  years  among  a  people  in  whom 
the  Indian  traits  are  more  or  less  traceable,  it  is  probable 
that  Archdeacon  Hunter  is  less  attracted  by  the  modified, 
ample  black  hair,  the  large  full  mouth,  and  the  dark,  though 
gentle  and  softly  expressive  eye,  which  strikes  a  stranger  on 
first  coming  among  any  frontier  population  of  mixed  blood. 
The  half-breeds  also  retain  much  of  the  reserved  and  unim- 
pressible  manner  of  the  Indian ;  though  a  good  deal  of 
intercourse  with  the  native  race  has  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
that  this  is  more  of  an  acquired  habit  than  a  strictly 
hereditary  trait :  a  piece  of  Indian  education  akin  to  certain 
habits  of  social  life  universally  inculcated  among  ourselves. 
When  off  his  guard,  the  wild  Indian  betrays  great  inqidsitive- 
ness,  and  when  relaxing  over  the  camp-fiire  after  a  laborious 
day  gives  free  play  to  mirth  and  loquacity. 

So  far,  however,  much  that  has  been  said  applies  to  the 
mixed  population  of  the  lied  Eiver  Settlement,  living  on  a 
perfect  equality  with  the  white  settler?,  and  constituting  an 
integral  part  of  the  colony.  They  are  neither  to  be  confounded 
with  the  remarkable  tribe  of  half-bre^d  hunters,  nor  with  the 
Indians  of  mixed  blood  already  described,  on  older  Canadian 
reserves.  Eemote  as  this  settlemer'  has  hitherto  been  from 
ordinary  centres  of  colonisation,  and  inaccessible  except  through 
the  agency  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  every  tendency  has 
been  to  encourage  the  introduction  of  the  young  adventurer, 
trapper,  or  voyageur,  rather  than  the  married  settler.  The 
habits  of  life  incident  to  the  fur  trade  made  the  distinction  less 
marked  between  the  Indian  and  the  white  man ;  and  thus  a 
people  of  peculiar  type  grew  up  there  as  intermediate  in 
habits  and  mode  of  life  as  in  blood  from  those  of  the  old 
settled  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada.  Much  pro- 
perty is  now  possessed  by  men  of  mixed  blood.  Their  young 
men  have  in  some  cases  been  sent  to  the  colleges  of  Canada, 
and,  after  creditably  distinguishing  themselves,  have  returned 
to  lend  their  aid  in  the  progress  of  the  settlement.  Thus  a 
favourable  concurrence  of  circumstances  in  all  respects  tended 
to  give  ample  opportunity  for  testing  the  experiment  of  inter- 


■.';; 


r 
Ml 


333 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


mingling  the  blood  of  Europe  and  America,  and  raising  up  a 
civilised  race  peculiar  to  its  soil.  With  the  rapid  influx  of 
emigrants ;  the  settling  of  the  prairie  lands  with  a  population 
of  yeomen  farmers ;  and  the  rise  of  villages  and  towns  along 
the  railways  and  river  highways ;  the  ultimate  absorption  of 
this  half-breed  population,  and  its  merging  into  the  homo- 
geneous community  that  will  ultimately  be  fashioned  out  of 
a  meeting  of  very  diverse  settlers,  is  inevitable.  Icelanders 
and  Danes,  Germans,  Kussians,  Italians,  French,  Highland 
crofters,  and  Irish  Celts,  are  all  being  interfused  into  the  new 
community  of  which  the  half-breed  element  will  form  no 
unimportant  factor. 

But  a  greater  interest  attaches  to  that  other  class  of  half- 
breeds  already  alluded  to,  which  the  new  order  of  things  has 
inevitably  tended  to  efface,  though  not  necessarily  to  eradicate, 
as  an  element  in  the  population  of  the  future  province. 
Besides  the  civilised  race  of  half-breeds,  mingling  on  a  perfect 
equality  with  the  Whites ;  brought  up  in  many  cases  in  full 
enjoyment  of  such  domestic  training  as  the  Hudson  Bay  factor 
and  hunter  could  furnish  in  the  wilderness  ;  there  remained 
apart  from  them  a  half-breed  race,  the  offspring  born  to  native 
women  as  the  inevitable  results  of  such  a  social  condition  as 
pertains  to  the  occupants  of  the  forts  and  trading-posts  of  that 
remote  region.  These  half-breed  bufifalo  hunters  were  wholly 
distinct  from  the  civilised  settlers,  and  yet  more  nearly  related 
to  them  than  to  the  wild  Indian  tribes.  They  belonged  to  the 
settlement,  possessed  land,  and  cultivated  farms,  though  their 
agricultural  labours  were  very  much  subordinated  to  the  claims 
of  the  chase,  and  they  scarcely  aimed  at  more  than  supplying 
their  own  wants.  The  two  bands  numbered  in  all  between 
6000  and  7000.  Each  division  had  its  separare  tribal 
organisation  and  distinct  hunting-grounds,  extending  beyond 
the  British  American  frontier.  In  1849  the  White  Horse 
plain  half-breeds  on  the  Strayenne  river,  Dakota  territory, 
rendered  the  following  returns  to  an  officer  appointed  to  take 
the  census:  "700  half-breeds,  200  Indians,  603  carts,  600 
horses,  200  oxen,  400  dogs,  and  1  cat."  This  may  illustrate 
the  general  character  of  a  people  partaking  of  the  nomad 
habits  of  the  Indian,  and  yet  possessed  of  a  considerable 
amount  of  movable  property  and   real  estate.     They  are  a 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


353 


hardy  race,  fearless  horsemen,  and  capable  of  enduring  the 
greatest  privations.  They  have  adopted  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith,  and  specially  coveted  the  presence  of  a  priest  with  them 
when  on  their  hunting  expeditions.  The  mass  was  celebrated 
on  the  open  prairie,  and  was  prized  as  a  guarantee  of  success  in 
the  hunting-field.  On  such  expeditions,  it  has  to  be  borne  in 
view,  they  were  not  tempted  by  mere  love  of  the  chase  or  by 
the  prospect  of  a  supply  of  game.  Winter-hunting  supplies  to 
the  trapper  the  valued  peltries  of  the  fur-bearing  animals  ;  but 
they  depended  on  the  summer  and  autumn  buffalo  hunts  for 
the  supply  of  pemmii^an,  which  furnished  one  of  the  main 
resources  of  the  whole  Hudson  Bay  population.  The  summer 
hunt  kept  them  abroad  on  the  prairie  from  about  the  15  th  of 
June  to  the  end  of  August,  and  smaller  bands  resumed  the 
hunt  in  the  autumn.  With  this  as  the  favourite  and  engross- 
ing work  of  the  tribe,  it  is  inevitable  that  farming  could  be 
carried  on  only  in  the  most  desultory  fashion.  Nevertheless, 
the  severi»;y  of  the  winter  compelled  them  to  make  provision 
for  the  numerous  horses  and  oxen  on  which  the  summer  hunt 
depended  ;  and  thus  habits  of  industry  and  forethought  were 
engendered. 

The  half-breed  hunters  regarded  the  Sioux  and  Blackfeet 
as  their  natural  enemies,  and  carried  on  warfare  with  them 
much  after  the  fashion  of  the  Indian  tribes  that  have  acquired 
fire-arms  and  horses  ;  but  they  gave  proof  of  their  "  Christian  " 
civilisation  by  taking  no  scalps.  In  the  field,  whether  prepar- 
ing for  hunting  or  war,  the  superiority  of  the  half-breeds  was 
strikingly  apparent.  They  then  evinced  a  discipline,  courage, 
and  self-control,  of  which  the  wild  Sioux,  Crees,  or  Blackfeat 
are  wholly  incapable  ;  and  they  accordingly  looked  with  undis- 
guised contempt  on  their  Indian  foes. 

Such  are  some  of  the  most  noticeable  characteristics  of  this 
interesting  race,  called  into  being  by  the  contact  of  the 
European  with  the  native  tribes  of  the  forest  and  prairie. 
With  so  many  of  the  elements  of  civilisation  which  it  is  found 
80  hard  to  introduce  among  the  most  intelligent  native  tribes, 
an  aptitude  for  social  organisation,  and  a  thorough  independ- 
ence of  all  external  superintendence  or  control,  there  seems  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  here  is  an  example  of  an  intermediate 
race,  combining   characteristics  derived   from  two   extremely 


334 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


diverse  types  of  man,  with  all  apparent  promise  of  perpetuity 
and  increase,  if  they  could  have  been  secured  in  the  exclusive 
occupation  of  the  region  in  which  they  have  originated.  But 
the  railway  has  traversed  the  trail  of  the  buffalo ;  and  they 
have  been  compelled  to  make  their  choice  between  conformity 
to  the  industrial  habits  of  agricultural  settlers,  or  follow  tlie 
herds  of  the  buffalo  in  search  of  some  remote  wilderness 
beyond  the  shriek  of  the  locomotive  and  the  hail  of  the 
pioneer  immigrant. 

The  inevitable  revolution  was  not  permitted  to  be  inagur- 
ated  without  very  practical  protest.  The  Eed  Kiver  Expedition 
of  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  in  1870  was  directed  to  put  down  a 
revolt  of  the  half-breeds,  under  their  leader,  Louis  Kiel, 
resolute  to  oppose  the  intrusion  of  immigrant  settlers.  The 
struggle  was  renewed  in  1885  under  the  same  leader,  but  with 
the  more  legitimate  grievance  of  neglected  land  claims,  and 
the  assertion  of  their  rights  to  property  in  the  prairie  lands 
and  on  the  river  fronts.  They  were  encountered  by  a  Canadian 
volunteer  force ;  Batoche,  their  little  urban  stronghold,  was 
captured;  and  the  North-West  rebellion  was  brought  to  an 
end.  But  it  was  freely  acknowledged  that,  poorly  armed  and 
ill-provided  with  the  indispensable  requisites  for  meeting  a 
well-organised  force  of  militia,  under  an  experienced  British 
soldier.  General  Middleton,  they  displayed  unflinching  courage, 
and  held  out  bravely  against  overwhelming  numbers  furnished 
with  the  deadly  appliances  of  modern  warfare. 

It  could  not  be  supposed  that  the  invasion  of  the  western 
hemisphere  by  the  wanderers  from  the  later  homes  of  the 
Aryans  beyond  the  Atlantic  could  reproduce  in  all  respects 
the  old  phenomena  that  marked  the  displacement  of  Europe's 
prehistoric  races.  But  making  due  allowance  for  the  changes 
wrought  on  the  Aryan  stock  by  the  civilising  influences  of 
twenty  centuries  or  more ;  and  the  consequent  disparity 
between  them  and  the  rude  hunter  tribes  of  the  American  forests 
and  prairies ;  much  remains  to  aid  us  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  past.  Ethnological  investigation  and  induction  enable  us 
to  realise  the  condition  of  Europe  when  its  thinly-dispersed 
population  consisted  of  a  dark-skinned  race,  small  in  stature, 
and,  as  we  may  conceive,  with  hair  and  eyes  of  corresponding 
hue.     Sepulchral  deposits  and  the  chance  disclosures  in  their  old 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


335 


cave-shelters  have  made  us  familiar  with  their  physical  form. 
Their  modern  representatives  survive  on  the  outskirts  of 
Europe's  civilised  centres.  Still  more,  their  ethnical  character- 
istics have  been  perpetuated  by  the  very  same  process  as  may 
now  be  seen  in  progress  in  the  frontier  states  of  America  and 
the  newest  provinces  of  the  Canadian  Dominion.  Not  only  are 
the  modern  representatives  of  Europe's  Allophyliae  to  be  found 
among  the  Lapps,  Finns,  and  the  Iberians  of  Northern  and 
Western  Europe ;  biit  everywhere  in  the  British  Isles,  and 
throughout  Western  Europe,  the  Melanochroic  elements  stand 
out  distinctly  from  the  predominant  Xanthocroic  stock,  among 
a  people  unconscious  of  any  diversity  of  race.  Here  then 
we  see  evidences  of  the  intermingling  and  the  partial  absorp- 
tion of  the  Australioid  savage  of  prehistoric  Europe  by  the 
later  Xanthocroi,  the  proiluct  of  which  survives  in  the  brunette 
of  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Spain,  and  Italy.  In  Britain 
the  contrasting  characteristics  of  the  diverse  ethnical  elements 
attracted  the  attention  of  Tacitus  in  the  first  century  of 
our  era.  In  Spain  the  Iberian  still  preserves  the  evidence 
of  an  individuality  apart  from  the  Indo-European  races  in  the 
vernacular  Euskara,  while  a  large  Moorish  element  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  peninsula  perpetuates  the  results  of 
another  foreign  intrusion  and  interblending  of  races  within 
historic  times. 

The  diversity  apparent  in  some  of  tlie  results  of  the  meeting 
of  dissimilar  races  in  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  is  due  to 
the  geographical  characteristics  of  the  two  hemispheres.  Alike 
by  sea  and  land,  Europe  could  be  entered  by  invading  colouists, 
gradually,  and  at  many  diverse  points.  Hence,  the  aggression 
of  the  higher  races  may  be  assumed  to  liave  begun  while  the 
difference  between  them  and  the  aborigines  of  Europe  was 
much  less  than  that  which  distinguishes  the  European  from  the 
Red  Indian  savage.  The  conquest  would  thus  be  protracted 
over  a  period  probably  of  many  generations,  and  so  would 
involve  no  such  collisions  as  inevitably  result  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  savage  races  when  brought  into  abrupt  contact  with 
those  far  advanced  in  civilisation. 

But  the  peculiar  relations  of  the  frontier  populations  of  the 
New  World,  and  especially  of  the  factors,  trappers,  and 
voyageurs  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  with  the  native  tribes, 


-m 


■..i'ti 


i 


336 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


,1^»,<!' 


helped  to  create  a  partial  equality  between  the  civilised 
European  and  the  savage,  and  so  to  beget  results  akin  to 
those  which  have  left  such  enduring  evidences  of  the  mingling 
of  diverse  races  in  the  population  of  Europe. 

This  accordingly  suggests  a  question  affecting  the  whole 
'.elations  of  British  and  European  colonists  generally  to  the 
native  population  of  new  lands  settled  and  colonised  by  tin  in. 
Not  only  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish,  but  German,  Norwegian, 
Icelandic,  French,  Polish,  Russian,  and  Italian  emigrants  flock 
in  thousands  to  the  New  World,  merge  in  the  common  stock, 
and  in  the  third  generation  learn  to  speak  of  themselves  as 
"  Anglo-Saxon  "  !  The  investigations  of  ethnologists  have  well- 
nigh  put  an  end  to  the  supposed  purity  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  or 
Anglo-Scandinavian  population  in  all  but  the  assumed  purely 
Celtic  areas  of  the  British  Islands ;  and  the  latest  system  of 
ethnical  classification  is  based  on  the  recognition  of  the 
survival  in  the  mixed  population  of  modern  Britain  of  a  race- 
element  which  still  perpetuates  an  enduring  influence  derived 
from  aborigines  of  Europe  anterior  to  the  advent  of  Celt  or 
Teuton.  The  power  of  absorption  and  assimilation  of  a  pre- 
dominant race  is  great;  and  ethnological  displacement  is  no 
more  necessarily  a  process  of  extinction  now  than  in  primitive 
times ;  though  intermixture  must  ever  be  most  easily  effected 
where  the  ethnical  distinctions  are  least  strongly  marked,  and 
the  conditions  of  civilisation  are  nearly  akin. 

The  permanent  survival  of  a  disparate  type  in  America 
perpetuating  the  evidences  of  the  interblending  of  the  Eod 
and  White  races  may  be  doubted.  That  some  ineffaceable 
results  will  remain  I  cannot  doubt ;  but  tlie  enormous  disparity 
in  numbers  between  the  millions  of  European  nationalities, 
and  the  little  remnant  of  the  native  race  brought  in  contact 
with  them,  precludes  the  possibility  of  results  such  as  have 
perpetuated  in  the  modern  races  of  Europe  elements  derived 
from  some  of  its  earliest  savage  tribes. 

It  has  indeed  been  such  a  favourite  idea  witli  some  physi- 
ologists that  in  the  undoubted  developments  of  something  like  a 
distinct  Anglo-American  type,  there  is  a  certain  approximation 
to  the  Indian,  that  Dr.  Carpenter,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Varieties 
of  Mankind,  lays  claim  to  originality  in  the  idea  "that  the 
conformation  of  the  cranium  seems  to  have  undergone  a  certain 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


337 


amount  of  alteration,  even  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  of  the 
United  States,  whicli  assimilates  it  in  some  degree  to  that  of 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants."  This  he  dwells  on  in  some  detail, 
and  arrives  at  wliat  he  seems  to  regard  as  an  indisputable 
conclusion,  that  the  peculiar  American  physiognomy  to  which 
he  adverts  presents  a  transition,  however  slight,  toward  that  of 
the  North  American  Indian.  But  the  long-cherished  opinion, 
to  which  Dr.  Morton  gave  currency,  of  the  existence  of  one 
special  type  of  skull-form  common  to  the  whole  aborigines  of 
America,  has  been  abandoued  by  all  who  have  given  any 
attention  to  the  evidence  which  Dr.  Morton's  own  Crania 
Americana  supplies.  I  doubt  if  the  idea  of  such  an  ap- 
proxiuiiition  of  the  Anglo-American  to  the  Red  Indian  type 
would  ever  have  occurred  to  a  physiologist  of  Canada  or  of 
New  England,  to  whom  abundant  opportunities  for  comparing 
the  Indian  and  Anglo-American  features,  and  of  noting  the 
actual  transitional  forms  between  the  two,  are  accessible. 
But  if  such  examples  can  be  clearly  recognised,  they  may 
be  assigned  with  probability  to  a  reverting  to  tlip  type  of 
some  lied  ancestress  whose  blood  is  transmitted  to  a  late 
descendant. 

But  it  is  otherwise  with  the  millions  of  the  Coloured 
race  who  now  constitute  the  indigenous  population  of  the 
Southern  States.  They  are  at  home  there  in  a  climate  to 
which  the  White  race  adapts  itself  with  very  partial  success. 
The  offspring  of  white  fathers  and  of  mothers  of  the  African 
races,  they  have  multiplied  to  millions ;  and  now  with  tlie 
recently  acquired  rights  of  citizenship,  and  with  the  advantages 
of  education  within  their  reach,  the  country  is  their  own. 
The  very  social  prejudices  against  miscegenation  protect  them 
from  the  pfTacing  influences  to  which  the  Indian  half-breed 
is  exposed  by  ever  recurrent  intermarriage  with  the  dominant 
race.  As  yet,  there  are  discernible  the  various  degrees  of 
heredity  from  the  Mulatto  to  the  Quint i iron.  But  the 
abolishing  of  slavery  has  placed  the  Coloured  race  on  an 
entirely  new  footing;  and  left  as  it  now  is,  free  to  enjoy  the 
healthful  social  relations  of  a  civilised  community,  and  pro- 
tected by  the  very  prejudices  of  race  and  caste  from  any 
large  intermixture  with  the  White  race,  it  can  scarcely  admit 
of  doubt  that  there  will  survive  on  the  American  continent  a 

z 


'I. 
t 

:  ►  ■  * 
■    '•  '  1 

i 

; 

\ 

"•-  i 

*     tt*      1 

338 


HYBRIDITY  AND  HEREDITY 


Melanocroi  of  its  own,  more  distinctly  separated  from  the 
Wliite  race,  not  only  by  heredity,  but  also  by  eliniatic 
influences,  than  the  "  dark  Whites  "  of  Europe  are  from  the 
blonde  types  of  Hellenic,  Slavic,  Teutonic,  or  Scandinavian 
stocks. 


VIII 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN- WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


ilr. 


■  H 


Consistently  with  the  recognition  of  the  brain  as  the  organ  of 
intellectual  activity,  it  seems  not  unnatural  to  assume  for  man, 
as  the  rational  animal,  a  very  distinctive  cerebral  development. 
One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  living  naturalists.  Professor 
Owen,  has  even  made  this  organ  the  basis  of  a  system  of 
classification,  by  means  of  which  he  separates  man  into  a 
sub-class,  distinct  from  all  other  mammalia.  But  while  a 
comparison  between  man  and  the  anthropoid  apes,  as  the 
animals  most  nearly  approximating  to  him  in  physical  structure, 
lends  confirmation  to  the  idea  not  only  that  a  well-developed 
brain  is  essential  to  natural  activity,  but  that  there  is  a  close 
relation  between  the  development  of  the  brain  and  the  mani- 
festation of  intellectual  power ;  the  distinctive  features  in  the 
human  brain,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  anthropomorpha, 
prove  to  be  greatly  less  than  had  been  assumed  under  im- 
perfect knowledge.  The  substantial  difference  is  in  volume. 
"  No  one,  I  presume,"  says  Darwin,  "  doubts  that  the  large  size 
of  the  brain  in  man,  relatively  to  his  body,  in  comparison  to 
that  of  the  gorilla  or  orang,  is  closely  connected  with  his  higher 
mental  powers ; "  ^  and  it  might  not  unfairly  be  reasoned  from 
analogy,  that  the  same  test  distinguishes  the  intellectual  man 
from  the  stolid,  and  the  civilised  man  from  the  savage.  A 
careful  study  of  the  subject,  however,  shows  some  remarkable 
deviations  from  such  a  scale  of  progression.  Attention  is 
indeed  directed  to  greatly  more  ample  proofs  of  inequality 
between  the  organic  source  of  power  and  the  manifestations  of 

^  The  Descent  of  Man,  Part  I.  chap.  iv. 


m 


340      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


^!k 


mental  energy ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  ant,  with  its  cerebral 
ganglia  not  so  large  as  the  quarter  of  a  small  pin's  head,  dis- 
playing ^'nstincts  and  apparent  affections  of  wonderful  intensity 
and  compass.  Viewed  in  this  aspect,  "  the  brain  of  an  ant  is 
one  of  the  most  marvellous  atoms  of  mntter  in  the  world, 
perhaps  more  marvellous  'than  the  brain  of  man."  Here, 
however,  we  look  on  elements  of  contrast  rather  than  analogy ; 
and  seek  in  vain  in  this  direction  for  any  appreciable  test  of 
the  soundness  of  the  popular  belief  in  the  size  of  the  brain  as  a 
measure  of  intellectual  power.  It  is  otherwise  when  we  turn 
to  the  anthropomorpha.  There,  alike  in  the  scientific  and  in  the 
popular  creed,  very  special  and  exceptional  affinities  to  man 
are  admitted  ;  and  a  careful  study  of  their  anatomical  structure 
tends  to  increase  the  recognised  points  of  analogy. 

Mr.  Lockhart  Clarke,  in  a  contribution  to  Dr.  Maudsley's 
work  on  the  Physiology  and  Pathology  of  Mind,  gives  a 
minute  description  of  the  concentric  layers  of  nervous  sub- 
stance which  combine  to  form  the  convolutions  of  the  human 
brain ;  and  of  the  forms  and  disposition  of  the  various  nerve- 
cells  of  which  its  vesicular  structure  consists.  Comparing  the 
human  brain  with  those  of  other  animals,  he  says :  "  Between 
the  cells  of  the  convolutions  in  man  and  those  of  tlie  ape 
tribe  I  could  not  perceive  any  difference  whatever;  but  they 
certainly  differ  in  some  respects  from  those  of  the  larger 
mammalia :  from  those,  for  instance,  of  the  ox,  sheep,  or 
cat."  ^  Apart  from  the  difference  in  volume  (55  to  115  cubic 
;"nches),  the  only  distinctive  features,  according  to  Professor 
Huxley,  between  the  brain  of  the  anthropomorpha  and  that 
of  man,  are  "  the  filling  up  of  the  occipito-temporal  fissure ; 
the  greater  complexity  and  less  symmetry  of  the  other  sulci 
and  gyri ;  the  less  excavation  of  the  orbital  face  of  the  frontal 
lobe ;  and  the  larger  size  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres,  as 
compared  with  the  cerebellum  and  the  cerebral  nerves." 

The  brain  of  the  orang  is  the  one  which  seems  most  nearly 
to  approximate  to  that  of  man.  In  voluma  it  is  about  26 
or  27  cubic  inches;  or  about  half  the  minimum  size  of  a 
normal  human  brain.  The  frontal  height  is  greater  than  in 
that  of  other  anthropomorpha;  the  frontal  lobe  is  in  all 
respects  larger  as  compared  with  the  occipital  lobe ;  and 
^  Insanity  and  its  Treatment,  by  G.  F.  Blandford,  M.D.,  p.  10. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      341 

certain  folds  of  brain-substance,  styled  "  bridging  convulsions," 
which  in  the  human  brain  are  interposed  between  the  parietal 
and  occipital  lobes,  also  occur,  though  greatly  reduced,  in  the 
brain  of  the  orang ;  while  they  appear  to  be  wholly  wanting 
in  the  chimpanzee,  the  gibbon,  and  other  apes  which  super- 
ficially present  a  greater  resemblance  to  man.  Referring  to 
the  convolutions  of  the  central  cerebral  lobe,  Huschke  says : 
"With  their  formation  in  the  ape,  the  brain  enters  the  1  ■.- 
stage  of  development  until  it  arrives  at  its  perfection  iu  m  n ;  ' 
and  the  higher  class  of  brains  may  be  arranged  between  die 
extremes  of  poorly  and  richly  convoluted  examples. 

But  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that,  apart  from  structural 
differences,  relative,  and  not  absolute  mass  and  weight  of  Vn  pn 
has  to  be  considered,  otherwise  the  elephant  and  the  whale 
would  take  the  foremost  place.  "  The  brain  of  the  porpoise," 
Professor  Huxley  remarks,^  "  is  quite  wonderful  for  its  mass, 
and  for  the  development  of  the  cerebral  convolutions ;"  but  it 
is  the  centre  of  a  nervous  Bystem  of  corresponding  capacity, 
while  as  compared  with  the  size  of  the  animal,  the  brain  iy 
not  relatively  large.  Vogt  states  the  weight  of  the  human 
body  to  be  to  the  brain,  on  an  average,  as  36  to  1 ;  whereas 
in  the  most  intelligent  animals  the  difference  is  rarely  less 
than  100  to  1. 

Assuming  the  existence  of  some  unifonn  relation  between 
the  size  of  the  brain  and  the  development  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  along  with  whatever  is  recognised  as  most  closely 
analogous  co  them  in  the  lower  animals,  it  might  be  anticipated 
tliat  we  should  find  not  only  a  graduated  development  of 
brain  in  the  anthropcmorpha  as  they  approximate  in  resem- 
blance to  man ;  but,  still  more,  that  the  progressive  stages 
from  the  lowest  savage  condition  to  that  of  the  most  civilised 
nations  should  be  traceable  in  a  comparative  size  and  weight 
of  brain.  Dr.  Carl  Vogt,  after  discussing  certain  liiinor  and 
doubtful  exceptions,  thus  proceeds  :  "  We  find  that  there  is  an 
almost  regular  series  in  the  cranial  capacity  of  such  nations 
and  races  as,  since  historic  times,  have  taken  no  part  iu 
civilisation.  Australians,  Hottentots,  and  Polynesians,  nations 
in  the  lowest  state  of  barbarism,  commence  tbe  series ;  and  no 
one  can  deny  that  the  place  they  occupy  in  relation  t^  cranial 
^  Mr.  Parwin's  CrUica :  CrUiqtie$  and  Addr^jiaes. 


342      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

capacity  and  cerebral  weight  corresponds  with  the  degree  of 
their  intellectual  capacity  and  civilisation."  ^  But  the  position 
thus  confidently  assigned  to  the  Polynesians  receives  no  con- 
firmation from  the  evidence  supplied  by  the  measurements  of 
Dr.  J.  B.  Davis,  in  his  Thesaurus  Craniorum ;  and  a  careful 
study  of  the  subject  reveals  other  remarkable  deviations  from 
such  a  scale  of  progression,  not  only  in  individuals  but  in 
races.  To  these  exceptional  deviations,  with  their  bearing  on 
the  comparative  capacity  of  races,  the  following  remarks  are 
chiefly  directed.  The  largest  and  heaviest  brains  do  indeed 
appear,  for  the  most  part,  to  pertain  to  the  nations  highest  in 
civilisation,  and  to  the  most  intelligent  of  their  number.  But 
this  cannot  be  asserted  as  a  uniform  law,  either  in  relation  to 
races  or  individuals.  The  more  carefully  the  requisite  evidence 
is  accumulated,  the  less  does  it  appear  that  the  volume  of 
brain,  or  the  cubic  contents  of  the  skull,  supply  a  uniform 
gauge  of  intellectual  capacity.  In  the  researches  which  have 
thus  far  been  instituted  into  the  characteristics  of  the  human 
brain  among  the  lowest  races,  the  development  is  in  many 
respects  remarkable ;  and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  no  organic 
differences  between  diverse  races  of  men  have  been  traced. 

Professor  C.  Luigi  Calori  has  published  the  results  of  a 
careful  examination  of  the  brain  of  a  negro  of  Guinea.  It 
presented  the  marked  excess  of  length  over  breadth  so 
characteristic  of  the  negro  cranium ;  but  in  other  respects  it 
corresponded  generally  to  the  fully  developed  European  brain. 
The  distribution  of  the  white  and  gray  substances  was  the 
same ;  the  cerebral  convolutions  were  collected  into  an  equal 
number  of  lobes ;  and  the  only  special  difference  was  that  the 
convolutions  were  a  little  less  frequently  folded,  and  the 
separating  sulci  somewhat  less  marked  than  in  the  average 
European  brain.  But  even  in  those  respects  the  complication 
was  great.  The  actual  weight  of  the  brain,  according  to 
Professor  Calori,  was  1260  grammes,  equivalent  to  444 
cubic  inches.  The  complexity  of  convolution,  and  consequent 
extension  of  superficies  of  the  encephalon,  appears  to  be  an 
eosentml  element  in  the  development  of  the  brain  as  the 
organ  of  highest  mental  capacity;  and  to  the  cerebrum, 
apparently,  the  true  functions  of  intellectual  activity  pertain. 

*  Vogt,  Lectures  on  Man,  Lecture  III. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      343 


Professor  Wagner  undertook  the  measurement  of  the  convex 
surface  of  the  frontal  lobe  in  a  series  of  brains.  The  heaviest, 
as  a  rule,  had  also  the  greatest  development  of  surface.  But 
the  two  elements  were  not  in  uniform  ratio.  Some  of  tlie 
lighter  brains  presented  a  much  greater  degree  of  convolution 
and  consequent  extent  of  convex  superficies  than  others 
which  ranked  above  them  in  weight.  It  is  thus  apparent 
that  in  estimating  the  comparative  characteristics  of  brains, 
various  elements  are  necessary  for  an  exhaustive  comparison. 
Besides  the  functional  differences  of  the  cerebrum,  cerebellum, 
and  pons  varolii,  they  have  different  specific  gravities,  so  that 
brains  of  equal  weight  may  differ  widely  in  quality.  Dr. 
Peacock,  taking  distilled  water  as  1000,  gives  the  values  of 
the  subdivisions  of  the  brain  thus:  cerebrum,  1034;  cere- 
bellum, 1041  ;  pons  varolii,  1040.  Again,  Dr.  Sankey  states 
the  mean  specific  gravity  of  the  gray  matter  of  the  brain  in 
either  sex  as  10346,  and  of  the  white  matter  as  1041*2. 
The  ^"^ariations  from  these  results,  as  given  by  Bastian,  Thur- 
nam,  and  others,  are  trifling.  But  it  is  significant  to  note 
that  recent  researches  show  that  where  greater  specific  gravity 
of  brain  occurs  in  the  insane,  it  appears  to  be  limited  to  the 
gray  matter.^  Professor  Goodsir  maintained  that  symmetry 
of  brain  has  more  to  do  with  the  higher  faculties  than  bulk  of 
form.  It  is,  at  any  rate,  apparent  that  two  brains  of  equal 
weight  may  differ  widely  in  quality. 

Nevertheless,  the  popular  estimate  embodied  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  "  a  good  head,"  "  a  long-headed  fellow,"  and  "  a 
poor  h>  ad,"  like  many  other  popular  inductions,  has  truth  for 
its  basis.  Up  to  a  certain  stage  the  growth  of  the  brain 
determines  the  capacity  of  the  skull.  Then  it  seems  as 
though  more  complex  convolutions  accompanied  the  packing 
of  the  elaborated  cerebral  mass  within  the  fixed  limits  of  its 
osseous  chamber. 

A  comparison  of  races,  based  on  minute  investigation  of  an 
adequate  number  of  brains  of  fair  typical  examples,  may  be 
expected  to  yield  important  results ;  but  in  the  absence  of 
such  direct  evidence,  the  chief  data  available  for  this  purpose 
are  derived  from  measurements  of  the  internal  capacity  of 
their  skulls.  Among  English  observers  who  have  devoted 
^  Journal  of  Mental  Science,  vol.  xii.  p.  23. 


4^ ' .  I'J 


•s 


I 


344      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

themselves  to  this  class  of  observations,  the  foremost  place 
is  due  to  Dr.  J.  Barnard  Davis,  who,  in  1867,  summed  up 
the  results  of  his  extensive  researches  in  a  contribution  to 
the  Royal  Society,  entitled  "  Contributions  towards  determining 
the  Weight  of  the  Brain  in  different  Kaces  of  Man."  ^  Inferior 
as  such  evidence  must  necessarily  be,  if  compared  with  the 
examination  of  the  brain  itself,  nevertheless  the  number  of 
skulls  of  the  different  races  gauged  unquestionably  furnishes 
some  highly  valuable  data  for  ethnical  comparison.  The 
evidence,  moreover,  is  obtained  from  a  source  in  some  respects 
less  variable  than  the  encephalon ;  and  will  always  constitute 
a  corrective  element  in  estimating  results  based  on  direct 
examinations  of  the  brain.  Dr.  Davis,  indeed,  claims  "  that 
the  examination  of  a  large  series  of  skulls  in  ascertaining  their 
capacities  and  deducing  from  those  capacities  the  average 
volume  of  the  brain,  affords  in  some  respects  more  available 
data  for  determining  this  relative  volume  for  any  particular 
race  than  the  weighing  of  the  brain  itself."  The  defect  is, 
that  its  most  important  results  are  necessarily  based  on  the 
assumption  of  a  uniform  density  of  brain ;  whereas  some 
notable  ethnical  differences,  hereafter  referred  to,  may  prove 
to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  certain  races  derive  their  special 
characteristics  from  a  prevailing  diversity  in  this  very  respect. 
But  the  extensive  observations  of  Dr.  Davis,  as  of  Dr. 
Morton,  have  a  special  value  from  the  fact  that  each  furnishes 
results  based  on  a  uniform  system  of  observation ;  for  the 
diverse  methods  and  materials  employed  by  different  observers 
in  gauging  the  human  skull  have  greatly  detracted  from  their 
practical  value.  In  a  communication  by  the  late  Professor 
Jeffreys  Wyman  to  the  Boston  Natural  History  Society,^  he 
presented  the  results  of  a  series  of  measurements  of  the 
internal  capacity  of  the  same  skull  with  pease,  beans,  rice, 
flax-seed,  shot,  and  coarse  and  fine  sand.  From  repeated 
experiments  he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  apparent 
capacity  varied  according  to  the  different  substances  used,  so 
that  the  same  skull  measured  respectively,  with  pease  1193 
centimetres,  with  shot  120 1*8,  with  rice  1220'2,  and  with 
fine  sand  1313  centimetres.     Professor  Wyman  was  led  to  the 

*  Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  clviii.  p.  605. 
'  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Natural  History  Society,  vol.  xl. 


m 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BR  An,  '"HIGHT  AND  SIZE      345 

conclusion  that,  for  exactness,  small  shot,  as  employed  latterly 
by  Dr.  Morton,  is  preferable  to  sand,  were  it  not  for  its  weight, 
which,  in  the  case  of  old  and  fragile  skulls,  is  apt  to  be 
destructive  to  them.  With  a  view  to  avoid  the  latter  evil, 
Dr.  J.  B,  Davis  has  used  fine  Calais  sand  of  1'425  specific 
gravity.  The  diversity  in  apparent  volume,  consequent  on 
the  employment  of  different  substances  in  gauging  the  internal 
capacity  of  the  skull,  necessarily  detracts  from  the  value  of 
comparative  results  of  Morton,  Davis,  and  others.  But  the 
elaborate  measurements  of  their  great  collections  of  human 
crania  furnish  reliable  series  of  data,  each  uniform  in  system, 
and  sufficiently  minute  to  satisfy  many  requirements  of  com- 
parative craniometry  and  approximate  cerebral  development. 

Without  assuming  an  invariable  coiTespondence  in  cubical 
capacity  and  brain- weight,  there  is  a  sufficient  approximation 
in  the  cubical  capacity  of  the  skull  and  the  average  weight  of 
the  encephalon  to  render  the  deductions  derived  from  gauging 
the  capacities  of  skulls  of  different  races  an  important  addition 
to  this  department  of  comparative  ethnology.  For  minute 
cerebral  comparisons,  however,  it  is  apparent  that  much  more 
ia  required ;  and  the  special  functions  assigned  to  the  various 
organs  within  the  cranium  have  to  be  kept  in  view.  Of  these 
the  medulla  oblongata,  in  direct  contact  with  the  spinal  cord, 
is  now  recognised  as  the  cei.fcre  of  the  vital  actions  in  breathing 
and  swallowing;  and  is  believed  also  to  be  the  direct  source  of 
the  muscular  action  employed  in  speech.  Next  to  it  are  the 
sensory  ganglia,  arranged  in  pairs  along  the  base  of  the  brain. 
To  the  cerebellum,  which  the  phrenologist  sets  apart  as  the 
source  of  the  emotions  and  passions  embraced  in  his  terminology 
of  amativeness,  philoprogenitiveness,  etc.,  physiologists  now 
assign  the  function  of  conveying  to  the  mind  the  conditions 
of  tension  and  relaxation  of  the  muscles,  and  so  controlling 
their  voluntary  action.  But  above  all  those  is  the  cerebrum, 
or  brain-proper,  consisting  of  two  large  lobes  of  nervous  sub- 
stance, which  in  man  are  so  large  that,  when  viewed  vertically, 
they  cover  and  conceal  the  cerebellum.  To  this  organ  is 
specially  assigned  emotion,  volition,  and  ratiocination.  It  is 
the  assumed  seat  of  the  mind ;  and,  in  a  truer  sense  than  the 
skull— 

The  dome  of  thought,  the  palace  of  the  soul ; 


■•■^». 


*•; 


A':'Wk 


346      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


if  indeed  it  be  not,  to  one  class  of  reasoners,  the  mind  itself. 
Certain   it  is  that  no   acute  disease  can  afl'ect  it  without  a 
corresponding  disorder  of  the  functions  of  mind ;    and  witli 
this  organ  much  below  the  average  size,  intellectual  weakness 
may  always    be    predicated.     But    at    the    same    time,  it   is 
significant  to  note  that  the  human  brain,  stinted  in  its  full 
proportions,    and    reduced    to    a    seeming    equality  with    the 
anthropomorpha,  exhibits  no  corresponding  capacities  or  instincts 
in  lieu  of  the  higher  mental  qualities.     Microcephaly  is  the 
invariable  index,  not  of  mere  limited  intelligence  and  mental 
capacity,  but  of  actual  mental  imbecility.    If  the  augmentation 
of  the  brain  of  the  anthropomorpha  from  55  to  115  cubic 
inches  be  all  that  is  requisite  for  the  transformation  of  the 
irrational  ape  into  the  reasoning  man,  it  would  seem  to  be  in  no 
degree  illogical  to  look  for  the  accompaniment  of  the  inversion 
of  the   process  by   an   approximation,   in   some   instances,  to 
certain  capacities  and  functions  of  the  ape.     But  there  are  no 
indications  of  this.      In  some  examples  of  microcephaly,  the 
so-called  animal  propensities  do  indeed  manifest  themselves  to 
excess ;    but  there  is  no  reproduction  of  the  animal  nature, 
instincts,   or   capacities,   analogous    to    the    scale    of   cerebral 
developm:  .b  of  the  orang  or  chimpanzee.     A  microcephalous 
idiot,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  in  St.  Bartholomew's 
Hospital,  London,  had  a  brain  weighing  only  13"125  oz.,  or 
372  grammes.    In  describing  this  case.  Professor  Owen  remarks: 
"  Here  nature  may  be  said  to  have  performed  for  us  the  ex- 
periment of   arresting  the  development  of   the   brain  almost 
exactly  at  the  size  which  it  attains  in  the  chimpanzee,  and 
where  the  intellectual  faculties  were  scarcely  more  developed. 
Yet  no  anatomist  would  hesitate  in  at  once  referring  the  cranium 
to  the  human  species."    And  so  is  it  with  the  encephalon.    The 
brain  of  the  chimpanzee  is  a  healthy,  well -developed  organ, 
adequate  to  the  amplest  requirements  of  the  animal ;  whereas 
the  microcephalous  human  brain  is  inadequate  for  any  efficient, 
continuous  cerebral  activity :  not  merely  limited  in  its  range  of 
powers.     Much,  however,  may  yet  be  learned  from  a  careful 
attention  to  the  imperfect  manifestations  of  activity  in  certain 
directions,  in  cases  of  microcephalic  idiocy,  and  noting  the 
predominant  tendency  in  each  case,  with  a  view  to  subsequent 
examination  of  the  brain.     By  this  means  it  may  be  found 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      347 


possible  to  refer  certain  forms  of  mental  activity  to  special 
variations  in  the  structure  of  the  organ,  or  to  distinct  members 
of  tliu  encephalon. 

Dr.  Laennec  exhibited  to  the  Anthropological  Society  of 
Paris  a  microcephalous  idiot  of  the  male  sex,  aged  fourteen 
years.  "  This  child  is  entirely  unconscious  of  his  own  actions, 
and  his  intellectual  operations  are  very  few  in  number,  and 
very  rudimentary.  His  language  consists  of  two  syllables,  owi 
and  la,  and  he  takes  an  evident  pleasure  in  pronouncing  them. 
He  takes  no  heed  in  what  direction  he  walks.  He  would  step 
off  a  precipice,  or  into  a  fire."  Attention  was  specially  directed 
to  the  idiot's  hands :  "  The  thumbs  are  atrophied,  and  cannot 
be  opposed  to  the  other  fingers.  The  palms  of  the  hands  have 
the  transverse  creases,  but  not  the  diagonal — the  result  of  the 
atrophy  of  the  thumbs.  Hence  the  hand  resembles  that  of  the 
chimpanzee.  The  dentition  too  is  defective.  Though  fourteen 
years  of  age,  the  child  has  only  twelve  teeth."  Here  it  is 
curious  to  note  the  analogies  in  physical  structure  to  the  lower 
anthropomorpha  in  other  organs  besides  the  brain,  for  it  only 
renders  more  striking  the  absence  of  any  corresponding  aptitudes. 

Dr.  J.  Barnard  Davis,  in  his  interesting  monograph  on 
Synostotic  Crania  aviong  Aboriginal  Races  of  Man,  produces 
some  remarkable  illustrations  of  the  effect  of  premature  ossifica- 
tion of  the  sutures  of  the  skull  in  arresting  the  full  development 
of  the  brain,  and  so  rendering  it  unequal  to  the  due  performance 
of  its  functions.  "  I  have,"  he  says,  "  the  cranium  of  a  convict 
who  was  executed  on  Norfolk  Island,  which  I  owe  to  the  kind- 
ness of  Admiral  H.  M.  Denham.  This  man  was  executed  there 
when  that  beautiful  isle  was  appropriated  to  the  reception  of 
the  most  dangerous  and  irreclaimable  convicts  from  the  other 
penal  settlements.  It  is  a  microcephalic  skull,  rather  dolicho- 
cephalic, of  a  man  apparently  about  forty  years  of  age.  It 
exhibits  a  perfect  ossification  of  the  sagittal  and  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  lambdoidal  sutures.  The  coronal  suture  is 
partially  obliterated  at  the  sides  in  the  temporal  regions,  and 
can  only  be  distinguished  by  faint  traces  in  all  its  middle  parts. 
In  this  case  there  has  not  been  any  compensatory  development 
of  moment  in  other  directions.  The  calvarium  is  not  abridged 
in  its  length,  which  is  7"1  inches,  equal  to  179  millimetres; 
probably  it  is  a  little  elongated.     It  is,  however,  very  narrow 


i 

•; 

348      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


.It?: 


being  only  4"8  inches,  or  122  mm.  at  its  widest  part,  between 
the  temporal  bones.  So  that  the  result  is  a  very  small,  dwarfed, 
almost  cylindrical  calvarium.  The  internal  capacity  is  only  59 
ounces  of  sand,^  which  is  equal  to  7l'4  cubic  inches,  or  1169 
cubic  centimetres."  Here  is  a  skull  considerably  below  the 
lowest  mean  of  the  crania  of  any  race  in  Morton's  enlarged 
tables,  or  in  the  more  comprehensive  ones  furnished  in  Dr. 
Davis's  Thesaurus  Craniorum.  Another  skull  nearly  approxi- 
mating to  it  is  that  of  a  Cole,  one  of  the  savage  tribes  of 
Nagpore,  in  Central  India,  who  are  said  to  go  entirely  naked. 
It  is  described  in  the  supplement  to  the  Thesaurus  Craniorum 
as  that  of  "  Chara,"  a  Cole  farmer,  aged  fifty,  and  its  internal 
capacity  is  stated  as  59*5  oz.  av.,  equivalent  to  71  "7  cubic  inches. 
The  Coles  appear  to  be  small  of  stature.  The  heights  of  three 
of  them,  whose  skulls  are  in  the  same  collection,  were  re- 
spectively 5  ft.  5  in.,  5  ft.  2  in.,  and  5  ft.,  and  the  average 
internal  capacity  of  five  male  skulls  is  only  66*6.  The  small 
stature  in  this  and  others  of  the  native  races  of  Central  India, 
has  to  be  taken  into  account  in  estimating  the  relative  size  of 
the  brain.  But,  after  making  all  due  allowance  for  this,  the 
Cole  skulls  are  remarkable  for  their  small  size,  being  smaller 
even  than  the  ordinary  Hindoos  of  Bengal.  Yet  one  of  them, 
"  Cootlo,"  whose  skull  is  among  those  included  in  the  above 
mean,  commanded  a  band  of  insurgents  in  the  Porahant  rebellion 
of  1858,  and  made  himself  a  terror  to  the  district. 

The  microcephalism  of  races,  as  well  as  of  individuals,  of 
small  stature,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  true  micro- 
cephaly of  a  dwarfed  or  imperfectly  developed  brain,  which  is 
invariably  accompanied  with  mental  imbecility.  The  Mincopies 
of  the  Andaman  Islands  are  spoken  of  by  Professor  Owen  as 
"  perhaps  the  most  primitive,  or  lowest  in  the  scale  of  civilisa- 
tion, of  the  human  race."  ^     Mr.  G.  E.  Dobson,  in  describing 

^  The  internal  capacity  of  59  oz.  is  given  here  from  the  Thesaurus  Craniorum, 
p.  40,  in  correction  of  that  of  50  oz.  stated  in  the  memoir  in  Transactmis  of  the 
Dutch  Society  of  Sciences,  Haarlem,  p.  21,  which  may  be  p'esumed  to  be  a 
misprint.  Dr.  Davis  adds,  in  the  Thesaurus  Craniorum:  "An  early  closure  of 
the  sutures  has  occasioned  a  stunted  growth  of  the  brain,  especially  of  its  convolu- 
tions, and  thus  prevented  the  development  of  those  structures  and  faculties  which 
might  have  given  a  different  direction  to  his  lower  propensities  ; "  and  he  justly 
adds  his  conviction  that  this  was  a  case  rather  for  timely  treatment  as  a  dangerous 
idiot,  than  for  punishment  as  a  criminal. 

'  Report  of  British  Association,  1861. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      349 

his  first  visit  to  one  of  their  "  homes,"  says  :  "  Although  none 
of  the  tribe  exceeded  64  inches  in  height,  so  that  on  first  seeing 
them  we  thought  the  shed  contained  none  but  boys  and  girls,  I 
was  especially  struck  by  the  remarkable  contrast  between  the  size 
of  the  males  and  females."  ^  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis  has  given,  in  the 
supplement  to  Thesaurus  Craniorum,  the  dimensions  of  a 
male  Mincopie  skeleton  in  his  collection.  The  age  he  assumes 
to  have  been  about  thirty-five.  The  internal  capacity  of  the 
skull  is  62  oz.  (Calais  sand),  equivalent  to  75"5  cubic  inches, 
and  the  entire  height  of  the  skeleton  is  58'7  inches.  It  belongs, 
says  Dr.  Davis,  to  a  pigmy  race,  is  small  in  all  its  dimensions, 
and  is  particularly  small  in  the  dimensions  of  the  pelvis.  Of 
their  skulls,  moreover,  he  adds,  "it  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
determine  the  sex  with  confidence.  They  are  all  small  (but 
this  is  a  character  of  the  race),  they  are  delicate  in  development, 
and  they  have  that  fulness  of  the  occipital  region,  and  sraall- 
ness  of  the  mastoid  processes,  which  are  marks  of  femininism." 

Mr.  Alfred  K.  Wallace  connects  the  Mincopies  with  the 
Negritos  and  Semangs  of  the  Malay  peninsula,  a  dark  woolly- 
liaired  race,  dwarfs  in  stature.  Dr.  Davis  says  of  the  six 
Mincopie  skulls  in  his  collection,  four  male  and  two  female, 
as  well  as  of  others  which  he  has  seen :  "  They  are  all  remark- 
ably and  strikingly  alike,  not  merely  in  size  but  in  form  also. 
They  are  all  small,  round,  brachycephalic  crania  of  beautiful 
form."  Moreover,  though  classed  as  "lowest  in  the  scale  of 
civilisation,"  the  Mincopies  betray  no  deficiency  of  intellect. 
The  admirable  photographs  which  illustrate  Mr.  Dobson's 
narrative  show  in  the  majority  of  them  good  frontal  develop- 
ment. The  brain  is  not,  indeed,  relatively  small.  Their  canoes 
are  made  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  hollowed  out ;  and  Mr.  Doljson 
remarks :  "  The  construction  of  their  peculiar  arrows  and  fish 
spears  with  movable  heads  exhibits  much  ingenuity,  and  the 
use  of  no  small  reasoning  power  in  adapting  means  to  an  end." 

We  are  indeed  too  apt  to  apply  our  own  artificial  standards 
as  the  sole  test  of  intellectual  vigour;  whereas  it  is  probable 
that  in  the  amount  of  acquired  knowledge  and  acuteness  of 
reasoning  many  savage  races  surpass  the  majority  of  the 
illiterate  peasantry  in  the  most  civilised  countries  of  Europe. 
Mr.  Wallace,  in  viewing  the  subject  in  one  special  light, 
^  Journal  Anthrop.  Inst,,  vol.  iv.  p.  464. 


"t! 


)(■■.*! 


350       RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


,,'5'... 


ill'.      « 


remarks :  "  The  brain  of  the  lowest  savages,  and,  as  far  as  we 
yet  know,  of  the  prehistoric  races,  is  little  inferior  in  size  to 
that  of  the  higher  types  of  man,  niid  is  immensely  superior  to 
that  of  the  higher  animals ;  while  it  is  universally  admitted 
ihat  quantity  of  brain  is  one  of  the  most  important,  and 
probably  the  most  essential  of  the  elements  whii;h  determine 
mental  power.  Yet  the  mental  requirements  of  savages,  and 
the  faculties  actually  exercised  by  them,  are  very  little  above 
those  of  animals.  The  higher  feelings  of  pure  morality  and 
refined  emotion,  and  the  power  of  abstract  reasoning  and  ideal 
conception,  are  useless  to  them ;  are  rarely,  if  ever,  manifested ; 
and  have  no  important  relations  to  their  habits,  wants,  desires, 
and  well-being.  They  possess  a  mental  organ  beyond  their 
needs."  ^ 

Here,  however,  it  may  be  well  to  guard  against  the  confusion 
of  two  very  distinct  elements.  The  higher  feelings  of  pure 
morality  and  refined  emotion  are  not  manifestations  of  iutel- 
lectufi'  igour  in  the  same  sense  as  is  the  power  of  abstract 
reasoniug  and  ideal  conception.  It  is  not  rare  to  find  an 
English  or  Scottish  peasant  with  little  intellectual  culture  or 
capacity  for  abstract  reasoning,  but  with  an  acutely  instinctive 
moral  sense.  On  the  other  hand,  among  the  criminal  class, 
it  is  by  no  means  rare  to  find  examples  of  wonderfully  vigorous 
intellectual  power  applied  to  the  planning  and  accomplishing 
of  schemes  which  involve  as  much  foresight  and  skill  as  many 
a  triumph  of  diplomacy ;  but  which  at  the  same  time  seem  to 
be  nearly  incompatible  with  any  moral  sense.  Moreover,  it  is 
needless  to  say  tliil  intellectual  vigour  and  high  moral  principle 
are  by  no  means  invariable  concomitants  in  any  class  of  society; 
nor  can  they  be  traced  to  a  common  source.  Mr.  Wallace 
recognises  that  "a  superior  intelligence  has  guided  the  develop- 
ment of  man  in  a  definite  direction,  and  for  a  special  purpose"; 
and  such  guidance  involves  much  more  than  the  mere  evolution 
of  a  higher  animal  organisation.  But,  appreciating  as  he  does 
the  difficulties  involved  in  any  acceptance  of  a  theory  of  evolu- 
tion which  assumes  man  to  be  the  mere  latest  outgrowth  of 
a  development  from  lower  forms  of  animal  life,  Mr.  Wallace 
points  out  that  "natural  selection  could  only  have  endowed 
savage  man  with  a  brain  a  little  superior  to  that  oi  an  ape, 
^  Limits  of  Natural  ^election,  as  applied  to  Man,  - 


RELATIVr  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      351 


whereas  he  actually  possesses  f>ne  very  little  inferior  to  that 
of  a  philosopher." 

Vc^t  neither  Mr.  Wallace,  nor  Professor  Huxloy  when  con- 
troverting this  argument,  withholds  a  due  recognition   of  the 
activity  of  the  intellect  of  the  savage.      No  one  indeed  can  have 
111     h  intercourse  with  savage  rai   3  wholly  dependent  on  their 
(iwn  resources  without  recogniHing  that,  within  a  certain  vange, 
their  faculties  are  kept  in  constant  a«tivity.     The  savage  hunter 
has  not  merely  an  intimate  familiarity  with  all  the  capabilities 
and  resources  of  many  regions  traversed   by  him  in  pursuit  of 
his  game ;  his  geographical  information   includes   much  useful 
knowledge  of  the  topography  of  ranges  of  country  which  he  has 
never  visited.      I   found,  on  one  occasion,  when  exploring  the 
Nepigon  River,  on  Lake  Superior,  that  my  Chippeway  guides, 
though  fully  500  miles  from  their  own  country,  and  visiting 
the  region  for  the   fii-st  time,  were   nevertheless  on   the   look- 
out   for    a    metamorphic   rock    underlying   the   syenite   which 
abounds  there;  and   they  made  their  way  by   well -recognised 
land-marks  to  this  favourit(i  "  pipe-stone  rock."     While  more- 
over the  Indian,  like  other  s swages,  is  devoid  of  much  of  what 
we  style  "  useful  knowledge,"  but  which  would  be  very  useless 
to  him,  he  is  fully  informed  '>n  many  subjects  embraced  within 
the  rangt;  of  the  natural  sciences;    and  has  a  very  practical 
knowledge    of   meteorology,    zoology,   botany,   and    much    else 
which   constitutes  useful  knowledge   to   him.     He  is   familiar 
with  the  habits  of  animals,  and  the  medicinal  virtues  of  many 
plants ;    will  find   his  way   through  the  forest  by  noting  the 
special  side  of  the  trunks  on  which  certain  lichens  grow ;  and 
follow  the  tracks  of  his  game,  or   discover   the  nesta  of  birds, 
by  indications  which  would  escape  the  most  observant  naturalist. 
The  Australian  savage,  stimulated  apparently  to  an  unwonted 
ingenuity  by  the  privations  of  an  arid  climate,  is  the  inventor 
of  two   wonderfully  ingenious    implements,   the   wommera    or 
throwing  stick,  and  the  homerang,  which,  when  employed  by 
the  native  expert,  accomplish  fents  entirely  beyond  any  efforts 
of  Europ(!an  skill.      Moreover,  as   Professor   Huxley  remarks, 
he  "  can  make  excellent  baskets  and  nets,  and  neatly  fitted  and 
beautifully  balanced  spears ;  he  learns  to  use  these  so  as  to 
be  able  to  transfix  a  quartern  loaf  at  sixty  yards ;  and  very 
often,  as  in  the  case  of  the  American  Indians,  tlie  language  of 


:    •.'11 


ii^^ 


fy: 


352      RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


a  savage  exhibits  c()m|ilexitios  which  a  well-trained  Kuropcati 
finds  it  ditticult  to  master."  Again  he  goes  on  to  say : 
"  Consider  that  every  time  a  savage  tracks  his  game  he  em})loys 
a  minuteness  of  observation,  and  an  accuracy  of  inductive  and 
deductive  reasoning  '•vhicli,  applied  to  other  matters,  would 
assure  some  reputation  to  a  man  of  science,  and  I  think  we 
need  ask  no  further  why  he  possesses  such  a  lair  supply  of  brains. 
In  complexity  and  difliculty,  I  should  say  that  the  intellectual 
labour  of  a  good  hunter  or  warrior  considerably  exceeds  that 
of  an  ordinary  Eng  ishman."  Hence  Professor  Huxley  is  not 
prepared  to  admit  that  the  American  or  Australian  savage 
possesses  in  his  brain  a  mental  organ  which  he  fails  to  turn  to 
full  account.  But  without  entering  on  the  questions  of  evolu- 
tion and  natural  selection  in  all  their  comprehensive  bearings, 
it  is  still  apparent  that  the  brain  of  the  savage  is  an  instrument 
of  great  capacity,  employed  within  narrow  limits. 

In  estimating  the  comparative  size  of  the  brain,  it  is  seen 
to  be  necessary  to  discriminate  between  individuals  or  races 
of  small  stature  and  cases  of  true  microcephaly.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  examples  of  idiocy  are 
not  rare  where  the  head  is  of  a  fair  average  size,  and  where 
the  mental  imbecility  is  regarded  as  congenital.  But  in  this 
as  in  other  researches  of  the  physiologist,  he  is  limited  in  his 
observations  mainly  to  the  chance  opportunities  which  offer 
for  study ;  and  not  unfrequently  the  piejudices  of  affection 
arrest  the  hand  of  the  student,  and  prevent  a  post-mortem 
examination  in  cases  where  scieiice  has  much  to  hope  for  from 
freedom  of  investigation.  Hence  the  data  thus  far  accumulated 
in  evidence  of  the  actual  structure,  size,  and  weight,  of  the 
human  brain  fall  far  short  of  whn.L  is  requisite  for  a  solution 
of  many  questions  in  reference  to  the  relations  between  cerebra- 
tion and  mental  activity.  From  time  to  time  men  of  science 
have  sought  by  example,  as  well  as  by  precept,  to  lessen  such 
impediments  to  scientific  research.  Dr.  Dalton  left  instructions 
for  a  post-mortem  examination  in  order  to  test  the  peculiarity 
of  his  vision,  which  he  had  assumed  to  be  due  to  a  colouring 
of  the  vitreous  humour;  Jeremy  Bentham  bequeathed  his 
body  to  his  friend  Dr.  Southwood  Smith,  for  the  purposes  of 
anatomical  science ;  and  the  will  of  Harriet  Martineau  con- 
tained this  provision:  "It  is  my  desire,  from  an  interest 


HI 


I 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WRIGHT  AND  SIZE      353 

the  progress  of  scientific  investigation,  that  my  skull  should 
be  given  to  Henry  George  Atkinson,  of  Upper  Gloucester  Place, 
London,  and  also  my  brain,  if  my  death  should  take  place 
within  such  distance  of  his  then  present  abode  as  to  enable 
him  to  have  it  for  purposes  of  scientific  investigation."  The 
will  is  dated  March  10,  1864;  but  by  a  codicil,  dated 
October  5,  1871,  this  direction  is  revoked,  with  the  explana- 
tion which  follows  in  these  words :  "  I  wish  to  leave  it  on 
record  that  this  alteration  in  my  testamentary  directions  is 
not  caused  by  any  change  of  opinion  as  to  the  importance  of 
scientific  observation  on  such  subjects,  but  is  made  in  con- 
sequence merely  of  a  change  of  circumstances  in  my  individual 
case."  The  natural  repugnance  of  surviving  relatives  to  any 
mutilation  of  the  body  must  always  tend  to  throw  impediments 
in  the  way  of  such  researches ;  though  it  may  be  anticipated 
that,  with  the  increasing  diffusion  of  knowledge,  such  obstacles 
to  its  pursuit  will  be  diminished.  Thus  far,  however,  not- 
withstanding the  persevering  labours  of  Welcker,  Bergmann, 
Parchappe,  Broca,  Boyd,  Skae,  Owen,  Thurnam,  and  other 
physiologists,  their  observations  have  been  necessarily  limited 
almost  exclusively  to  certain  exceptional  sources  of  evidence, 
embracing  to  a  large  extent  only  the  pauper  and  the  insane 
classes ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  latter  especially,  the  functional 
disorder  or  chronic  disease  of  the  organ  under  consideration 
renders  it  peculiarly  desirable  that  such  results  should  be 
brought,  as  far  as  possible,  into  comparison  with  a  correspond- 
ing number  of  observations  on  healthy  brains  of  a  class  fairly 
representing  the  social  and  intellectual  status  of  a  civilised 
community. 

The  average  brain- weight  of  the  human  adult,  as  determined 
by  a  numerous  series  of  observations,  ranges  for  man  from  40 
oz.  to  52^  oz.,  and  for  woman  from  35  oz.  to  47^  oz.  But 
some  indications  among  ancient  crania  tend  to  suggest  a  doubt 
as  to  whether  this  difference  in  cerebral  capacity  was  a  uni- 
formly marked  sexual  distinction  among  early  races;  due 
allowance  being  made  for  difference  in  stature.  Dr.  Thurnam 
made  the  race  of  the  British  Long  Barrows  a  special  subject  of 
study;  and  Dr.  RoUeston  followed  up  his  researches  with 
valuable  results.  Amongst  other  points,  he  noted  that  the 
males  appear  to  have  averaged  5  ft.  6  in.,  and  tLs  females 

2a 


■m 
'•4\ 


%%  iil 


■•»■:■:, 


i;«;4      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


■'m 


4  ft.  10  in.  in  height.  But  while  the  difference  of  stature 
between  the  male  and  the  female  exceeds  what  is  observable  in 
most  modern  races,  the  variation  in  the  size  and  internal 
capacity  of  their  skulls  appears  to  be  less  than  among  civilised 
races.  The  like  characteristics  are  noticeable  in  the  larger 
race  of  Europe's  Palaeolithic  era.  Nothing  is  more  striking  in 
the  discovery  of  those  ancient  remains  of  European  man  than 
the  remarkable  development  of  the  skulls  and  the  good  brain 
capacity  of  the  race  of  the  palaeotechnic  dawn,  where  man  is 
proved,  by  his  works  of  art  and  all  the  traces  of  his  hearth  and 
home,  to  have  been  still  a  rude  hunter  and  cave-dweller.  The 
Canstadt  type  of  skull  is  assumed  to  be  that  of  the  earliest 
European  race  of  which  traces  have  thus  far  been  discovered ; 
and  it  is  unquestionably  markedly  inferior  in  development  to 
that  of  the  artistic  Troglodytes  of  the  French  Eeindeer  period. 
Yet  remarkable  examples  of  atavism,  as  in  the  skull  of  St. 
Mansuy,  the  missionary  bishop  of  Toul,  in  Lorraine,  in  the 
lourth  century,  and  in  that  of  Eobert  the  Bruce,  show  a 
reversion  to  this  early  type,  in  accompaniment  with  exceptional 
intellectual  capacity.  The  Neanderthal  skull,  an  extreme 
example  of  the  primitive  type,  is  pronounced  by  Professor 
Schaaffhausen  to  be  the  most  brutal  of  all  human  skulls; 
though  this  impression  is  mainly  due  to  the  abnormal  develop- 
ment of  the  superciliary  ridges,  in  which  it  undoubtedly 
approximates  to  the  chimpanzee  or  the  gorilla.  But  it  has  an 
estimated  capacity  of  75  cubic  inches,  and  a  corresponding 
cerebral  development  in  no  degree  incompatible  with  the  idea 
that  the  remains  recovered  from  the  Neanderthal  cave  may  be 
those  of  a  skilled  hunter ;  and  one  apt  in  the  ingenious  arts  of 
the  primitive  tool-maker. 

Whatever  jther  changes,  therefore,  may  have  affected  the 
brain  as  the  organ  of  human  thought  and  reasoning,  it  does  not 
thus  far  appear  that  the  average  mass  of  brain  has  greatly 
increased  since  the  advent  of  European  man.  Important 
exceptions  have  indeed  been  noted.  Professor  Broca's  observa- 
tions on  the  cerebral  capacity  of  the  Parisian  population  at 
different  periods,  based  on  nearly  4CD  skulls  derived  from 
vaults  and  cemeteries  of  dates  from  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  to 
the  nineteenth  century,  appear  to  him  to  show  a  progressive 
cerebral  development  in    that    centre    of   European   civilisa- 


RELA TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      355 


tion.^  But  though  the  assumption  is  not  inconsistent  with 
other  results  of  civilisation,  and  is  the  necessary  corollary  of 
the  postulate  that  intellectual  activity  tends  to  development  of 
brain,  the  fact  that  the  crania  presented  a  still  greater  diversity 
in  type  than  in  size  reminds  us  of  the  intermixture  of  races  on 
the  banks  of  the  Seine,  and  the  consequent  necessity  for  much 
more  extended  observations  before  so  important  a  deduction 
can  be  received  as  an  established  truth. 

Taking  the  average  brain-weight  of  the  human  adult  as 
already  stated,  all  male  brains  falling  much  below  40  oz.  or 
1130  grammes,  and  female  brains  below  35  oz.  or  990  grammes, 
may  be  classed  'iS>  microcephalous ;  and  all  above  the  maxima 
of  the  medium  male  and  female  brain,  viz.  52^  oz.  or  1480 
grammes,  and  47^  oz.  or  1345  grammes,  may  be  ranked  as 
megalocephalous,  or  great  brains. 

Professor  Welcker,  who  devoted  special  attention  to  the 
whole  subject  under  review,  assumes  another  and  simpler  test 
when  he  says  that  skulls  of  more  than  540  to  550  millimetres, 
or  21"26  to  21'65  inches  in  circumference — the  weight  of 
brain  belonging  to  which  is  1490  to  1560  grammes  (52*5-55 
oz.  av.) — are  to  be  regarded  as  exceptionally  large.  But 
while  an  excess  of  horizontal  circumference  may  be  accepted  as 
indicating  good  cerebral  capacity,  it  mi  .t  not  be  overlooked 
that  the  adoption  of  it  as  the  key  to  any  definite  or  even 
approximate  brain -weight  ignores  the  important  elements  of 
variation  involved  in  the  difference  between  acrocephalic  and 
platycephalic  head-forms.  The  volume  of  brain  in  Scott,  and 
probably  in  Shakespeare,  appears  to  have  depended  more  on  its 
elevation  than  its  horizontal  expansion.  The  same  ^\as  also 
the  case  with  Byron.  The  iLtermastoid  arch,  measured  across 
the  vertex  of  the  skull  from  the  tip  of  one  mastoid  process  to 
the  other,  furnishes  an  accurate  gauge  of  this  development. 
Of  thirteen  selected  male  English  skulls  in  Dr.  Davis's  collec- 
tion, the  mean  of  this  measurement  is  15*1  ;  and  of  thirty-nine 
male  and  female  English  skulls,  it  is  only  14'4.  Of  the  whole 
number  of  eighty-one  English  skulls  described  in  the  Thesmirus 
Or a7iiorum,  three  exceptionally  large  ones  are:  No.  123,  chat 
of  an  ancient  British  chiei^  of  fully  6  ft.  2  in.  in  stature,  from 

*  Bull,  dc  la  Soc.   d' Anthropologic  de  Paris,   1861,   ii.  p.  501 ;    1862,  iii. 
p.  192. 


3S6      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

the  Grimsthcqje  Barrow,  Yorkshire;  No.  905,  a  calvarium  of 
great  magnitude,  very  brachycephalic,  and  with  the  elevation 
across  the  middle  of  the  parietals  apparently  exaggerated  by 
compression  in  infancy,  from  Hythe,  Kent;  and  No.  1029, 
another  male  skull,  remarkable  alike  for  its  si.'^e  and  weight, 
and  with  a  peculiarity  of  conformation  ascribed  by  Dr.  Davis  to 
synostosis  of  the  coronal  suture.  The  intermastoid  arch  in 
those  exceptionally  large  skulls  measures  respectively  16'0, 
16"2,  and  16'9,  whereas  the  same  measurement  derived  from 
the  cast  of  Scott's  head  taken  after  death,  yields  the  extra- 
ordinary dimensions  of  19  inches.  This  last  measurement  is 
over  the  hairy  scalp.  But  after  making  ample  allowance  for 
this,  the  vertical  measurement  of  the  skull  and  consequently  of 
the  brain  is  remarkable. 

Full  value  has  been  assigned  at  all  periods  to  the  well- 
developed  forehead.  It  is  characteristic  of  man.  The  physiog- 
nomist and  the  phrenologist  have  each  given  significance  to  it 
in  their  respective  systems ;  and  it  has  received  no  less 
prominent  recognition  from  the  poets.  A  fully  developed 
forehead  is  assumed  as  distinctive  of  the  male  skull.  But 
Juliet,  in  Tlie,  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  when  depreciating 
her  rival,  exclaims,  "  Ay,  but  her  forehead 's  low " ;  and  the 
jealous  Queen  of  Egypt,  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  is  told  of 
Octavia  that  "  her  forehead  is  as  low  as  she  would  wish  it." 
"The  fair  large  front"  of  Milton's  perfect  man  is  the  external 
index  of  an  ample  cerebrum :  the  organ  to  which  the  seat  of 
consciousness,  intelligence,  and  will  is  assigned.  It  is  therefore 
consistent  with  this  that  a  low,  retreating  forehead  is  popularly 
assumed  to  be  the  characteristic  index  of  the  savage,  and  of  the 
unintellectual  among  civilised  races.  But  the  cerebral  charac- 
teristics of  both  ancient  and  modern  civilised  races  have  still 
to  be  studied  in  detail ;  and  the  influence  of  race  and  sex  on 
the  form  of  the  head  and  the  mass  and  weight  of  the  brain, 
involves  some  curious  questions  in  relation  to  the  oldest  illus- 
trations of  the  physical  characteristics  of  man,  and  to  the  effect 
of  civilisation  on  the  relative  development  of  the  sexes. 

Early  observations  led  Dr.  Pruner-Bey  and  other  ethno- 
logists of  France  to  recognise  in  certain  ancient  Gaulish  skulls 
of  a  brachycephalic  type  the  evidences  of  a  primitive  race, 
assumed  to  represent  the  inhabitants  of  France  and  of  Central 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      35? 

Europe  during  its  lleindeer  period,  and  which  appeared  to  be 
assigned  with  reasonable  probability  to  a  Mongol  origin.  But 
in  the  Cro-Magnon  cavern,  and  in  other  caves  more  recently 
explored,  the  remains  of  a  race  of  men  have  been  brought  to 
light  markedly  dolichocephalic,  and  no  less  striking  in  cranial 
capacity.  Dr.  Broca  speaks  of  these  ?ncient  cave-dwellers  of 
the  valley  of  the  V(5z^re  as  characterised  by  "  sure  signs  of  a 
powerful  cerebral  organisation.  The  skulls  are  large.  Their 
diameters,  their  curves,  their  capacity,  attain,  and  even  surpass, 
our  medium  skulls  of  the  present  day.  The  forehead  is  wide, 
by  no  means  receding,  but  describing  a  fine  curve.  The  ampli- 
tude of  the  frontal  tuberosities  denotes  a  large  development  of 
the  anterior  cerebral  lobes,  which  are  the  seat  of  the  most  noble 
intellectual  faculties." 

This  primitive  race  of  hunters,  marked  by  such  exceptional 
characteristics,  belonged  to  the  remote  Keindeer  period  of 
Western  Europe,  and  was  contemporary  with  the  mammoth, 
the  tichorine  rhinoceros,  and  the  fossil  horse,  as  well  as  with 
the  cave-lion,  the  cave-bear,  and  other  long-extinct  carnivora 
of  Europe.  The  remarkable  evidence  of  their  intellectual 
capacity  has  already  been  reviewed,  in  considering  the  mani- 
festations o^  the  artistic  faculty  among  primitive  races.  Their 
weapons  and  implements,  including  carved  maces  or  official 
batons,  as  they  are  assumed  to  be,  contribute  additional  evidence 
of  skill  and  latent  capacity  among  a  primitive  race  of  hunters 
and  cave-dwellers.  Dr.  Broca,  after  a  consideration  of  the 
merits  of  their  ingenious  arts,  says :  "  They  had  advanced  to 
the  very  threshold  of  civilisation ; "  and  Dr.  Pruner-Bey  thus 
comments  on  their  characteristics :  "  If  we  consider  that  its 
three  individuals  had  a  cranial  capacity  much  superior  to  the 
average  at  the  present  day ;  that  one  of  them  was  a  female, 
and  that  female  crania  are  generally  below  the  average  of  male 
crania  in  size ;  and  that  nevertheless  tlie  cranial  capacity  of  the 
Cro-Magnon  woman  surpasses  the  average  capacity  of  iinaU 
skulls  of  to-day,  we  are  led  to  regard  the  great  size  of  the 
brain  as  one  of  the  more  remarkable  characters  of  the  Cro- 
Magnon  race.  This  cerebral  volume  seems  to  me  even  to 
exceed  that  with  which  at  the  present  day  a  stature  equal  to 
that  of  our  cave-folks  would  be  associated  ;  whilst  the  skulls 
from  the  Belgium  caves  are  small,  not  only  absolutely,  but 


358      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


even  relatively  in  the  rather  small  stature  of  the  inhabitants 
of  those  caves." 

The  Canstudl  head  is  undoubtedly  an  unintellectual  type 
sugjfestive  of  an  inferior,  though  not  necessarily  an  older  savage 
race ;  for  the  evidence  of  climate,  contemporary  fauna,  and 
other  indices  of  the  environments  of  the  Cro-Magnon  cave- 
'Iwellert-,  all  point  to  an  early  Post- Glacial  era.  Dr.  Isaac 
Taylor,  in  his  Origin  of  the  Aryans,  assuming  the  priority  of 
the  Canstadt  man,  speaks  of  him  as  "  this  primitive  savage,  the 
earliest  inhabitant  of  Europe."  The  forehead  in  this  type  is 
low  and  receding,  and  the  cerebral  capacity  generally  corre- 
spondingly inferior.  The  relative  superposition  in  some  dis- 
coveries of  ancient  human  remains,  as  in  the  alluvium  and 
gravels  of  a  former  bed  of  the  Seine,  at  Grenelle,  lends  confir- 
mation to  the  idea  that  in  this  poorly-developed  cranial  type 
we  recover  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  earliest  type  of 
the  European  savage  thus  far  brought  to  light.  But  no  dis- 
closure of  regular  sepulture,  or  of  implements  or  carvings 
assignable  to  him,  have  hitherto  furnished  the  means  of  deter- 
mhiing  his  condition  or  mode  of  life. 

The  disclosures  of  the  rock-shelters  in  the  valley  of  |lio 
Vez^re  are,  on  the  I'ontiary,  replete  with  Interest,  from  the 
evidence  they  furnislr  of  a  race  of  savage  liunters,  in  wliom 
ingenious  skill  and  great  artist  In  iijilltude  gave  evidence  of 
latent  intellectual  capacity  of  a  high  order.  The  remarkable 
size  of  crania  accompanying  those  examples  of  primitive  art 
seemingly  pertaining  tn  lljc  troglodytes  of  the  Mammoth  and 
Reindeer  periods  of  lJu|i|:ra|  |ijiii'oi)e,  is  the  more  significant  from 
its  bearing  >iu  tjie  eviqeuce  of  progressive  cerebral  development 
adiluceil  by  \\\.  Bibca  from  skulls  recovered  from  ancient  and 
modem  wmeteries  of  raris.  it  appears,  indeed,  to  conflict 
with  ai\y  t|ieory  of  a  J)rogressive  development  from  the  Troglo- 
dyte vrf  the  rost- Glacial  age  to  the  civilised  j^renchman  of 
modem  limes,  professor  |»oyd  Dawkins  has  accordingly  been 
at  some  pains  in  his  Cave  Ilunting  to  show  that  the  conclusions 
formed  by  previous  observers  as  to  the  epoch  of  their  burial 
sure  not  supported  by  the  facts  of  the  case ;  and  he  sums  up 
Ifts  review  of  the  whole  evidence  by  expressing  a  conviction 
liiat  he  "should  feel  inclii  u  o  .ivfwn  the  interments  to  the 
Neolithic  age,  in  whicJi  Cwf  -burial  r  tis   o  common.     The  facts," 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      359 

he  adds,  "  do  not  warrant  the  human  skeletons  being  taken  as 
proving  the  physique  of  the  palaeolithic  hunters  of  the  Dordogne, 
or  as  a  basis  for  an  inquiry  into  the  ethnology  of  the  palaeo- 
lithic races.  Professor  Boyd  Dawkins  also  pronounces  the 
same  doubts  in  reference  to  the  equally  characteristic  male 
skeleton  found  in  a  cave  at  Mentone,  and  to  others  obtained  in 
the  Lombrive  and  other  cav3S.  It  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that 
the  possibility  of  the  intrusion  of  human  remains  into  earlier 
strata  constitutes  an  important  element  suggesting  caution  in 
reasoning  from  such  evidence.  For  the  remains  of  man  differ 
from  those  of  other  animals  found  in  such  series  of  deposits 
as  mark  a  succession  of  periods,  in  so  far  as  they  pertain  to 
the  only  animal  habitually  given  to  the  practice  of  interment. 
Human  skeletons  found  under  such  circumstances  may  have 
been  artificially  intruded  long  subsequent  to  the  accumulation 
of  the  breccia  in  which  they  lay.  Happily,  however,  any 
doubts  as  to  the  contemporaneity  of  the  human  remains  with 
the  other  cave  relics  has  been  removed  by  the  discovery  of 
skeletons,  similar  in  type,  in  other  caverns  in  the  same  valley 
— and  especially  in  that  of  Laugerie  Basse, — in  positions  which 
seem  to  leave  no  room  for  questioning  their  being  of  the  same 
age  as  the  works  of  art  found  along  with  them. 

Other  examples  of  the  ancient  man  of  Europe  show  him  in 
like  manner  endowed  with  a  cerebral  development  in  advance 
of  the  rudest  races  of  modern  times.  The  skull  found  by 
Dr.  Schmerling  in  the  Engis  cave,  near  Liege,  along  with 
remains  of  six  or  seven  human  skeletons,  was  embedded  in  the 
same  matrix  with  bones  of  the  fossil  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
hysena,  and  other  extinct  quadrupeds.  It  is  a  fairly  propor- 
tioned, well- developed  dolichocephalic  skull ;  and,  like  others 
of  the  ancient  human  skulls  of  different  types  thus  far  found, 
has  signally  disappointed  the  expectations  of  those  who  count 
upon  invariably  finding  a  lower  type  the  older  the  formation 
in  which  it  occurs.  "  Assuredly,"  says  Professor  Huxley, 
"  there  is  no  mark  of  degradation  about  any  part  of  its  structure. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  fair  average  human  skull,  which  might  have 
belonged  to  a  philosopher,  or  might  have  contained  the  thought- 
less brain  of  a  savage."  Even  the  famous  Neanderthal  skull, 
of  uncertain  geological  antiquity,  but  pronounced  to  be  "  the 
most  brutal   of  all   human  skulls,"   acquires  its  exceptional 


360      RELATIVE  RAl     I L  BRAIN- WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

character,  as  already  not^.l,  chiefly  from  the  abnormal  develop- 
ment of  the  superciliary  region. 

It  is  a  universally  accepted  fact  that  the  size  of  the  male 
head  and  the  weight  of  the  brain  arc  greater  than  those  of  the 
female.  The  average  weight  of  the  male  brain  is  found  to 
exceed  that  of  the  female  by  about  1 0  per  cent ;  or,  as  it  is 
stated  by  Professor  Welcker,  the  brain-weight  of  man  is  to  that 
of  woman  as  100  to  90.  But  the  difference  of  stature  between 
the  two  sexes  has  to  be  taken  into  account.  The  average, 
based  on  various  series  of  observations  to  determine  the  mean 
stature  for  man  and  for  woman,  shows  the  latter  tc  be  about  8 
per  cent  less  than  the  former ;  or,  as  Dr.  Thurnam  has  stated 
it  more  precisely : 


BATIO    OF    STATURE    AND    BRAIN-WEIGHT    IN    THE    TWO    SEXES 

Male.        Female. 

Stature      .         .         ,     .    *,       .         100         92 
Wei.^ht  of  brain  V        .         .  100         90-3 

Here  again,  however,  it  becomes  important  to  take  into 
consideration  other  elements  of  difference  besides  weight ;  for, 
as  Tennyson  insists,  "Woman  is  not  undevelopt  man,  but 
diverse."  The  results  of  Wagner's  observations  on  the  super- 
ficial measurements  of  the  convolutions  of  the  brain  point  to 
the  conclusion  that  in  the  female  the  lesser  brain-weight  may 
be  compensated  by  a  larger  superficies.  Eanked  in  the  order 
of  their  relative  weights  in  grammes,  six  average  brains  of 
men  and  women  were  found  to  stand  thus : — 


1.  Male    .... 

(a)   1340 

2.  Male    .... 

\h)  1330 

3.  Male     .... 

(f)  1273 

4.  Female          .         ,         .         . 

(d)   1254 

5.  Female 

(e)   1223 

6.  Female 

(/)   1135 

But  the  same  brains,  when  tested  by  the  degrees  of  convolution 
of  the  frontal  lobe,  measured  in  squares  of  f<ixteen  square 
millimetres,  irrespective  of  the  question  of  relative  size,  ranked 
as  follows,  advancing  the  female  {d)  from  the  fourth  to  the  first 
place,  and  reducing  the  male  (c)  from  the  third  to  the  sixth 
place: — 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      361 


1.  Female 

(d)  2498 

2.  Male     . 

(0)  2461 

3.  Male     . 

(6)  2309 

4.  Female 

(/•)  2300 

5.  Female 

(e)  2272 

6.  Male    . 

(c)  2117 

But,  as  already  indicated,  some  modern  disclosures  tend  to 
raise  the  question  whether  the  difference  between  the  sexes,  in 
so  far  as  relative  volume  of  brain  is  concerned,  has  not  been 
increased  as  a  result  of  civilisation.  Tlie  dispiirity  in  size 
between  the  Cro-Magnon  male  and  female  skeletons  is  quite  as 
great  as  that  of  modern  times,  but  the  capacity  of  the  female 
skull  is  relatively  good. 

Other  observations,  such  as  those  of  Professor  Eolleston 
"On  the  People  of  the  Long  Barrow  Period,"  seem  to  indicate 
a  nearer  approximation  in  actual  cranial  capacity  of  the  two 
sexes  in  prehistoric  times  than  amoii„  modern  civilised  races. 
On  the  assumption  that  intellectual  activity  tends  Lo  permanent 
development  of  brain,  it  is  consistent  wiili  the  conditioriB  of 
savage  life  that  it  should  biing  the  mental  energies  of  both 
sexes  into  nearly  equal  play.  They  have  equally  to  encounter 
the  struggle  for  existence,  and  have  their  faculties  stimulated 
in  a  corresponding  degree.  As  nations  rise  above  the  punly 
savage  condition  of  the  hunter  stage,  this  relative  co-operation 
of  the  sexes  is  subjected  to  great  variations.  The  laws  of 
Solon  with  reference  to  the  right  of  sale  of  a  daughter  or  sister, 
and  the  penalties  for  the  violation  of  a  free  woman,  show  the 
position  of  the  weaker  sex  among  the  Greeks  at  that  early 
stage  to  have  been  a  degrading  one.  But  the  change  was 
great  at  a  later  stage ;  and  much  of  our  higher  civilisation  is 
traceable  to  the  early  establislnnent  of  the  European  woman's 
riiglits,  which  Christianity  subsequently  tended  to  enlarge. 
The  position  of  woman  among  the  ancient  Britons  appears  to 
h*.ve  beet  one  of  perfect  equality  with  man.  Among  the 
Arabians  and  other  Mohammedan  nations,  including  the 
eaodern  Turks,  the  opposite  is  the  case ;  and  the  whole  ten- 
dency of  the  creed  of  the  Koran,  and  the  social  life,  among 
Mohammedan  nations,  must  be  towards  the  intellectual  atrophy 
of  woman.  Hence  it  is  consistent  with  the  diverse  conditions 
of  life  iiiat,  in  so  far  as  cerebral  development  is  the  result  of 


362      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

mental  activity,  a  much  closer  approximation  is  to  be  looked  for 
in  the  mass  and  weight  of  brain  in  the  two  sexes  among  savage 
races,  than  among  nations  where  woman  systematically  occupies 
a  condition  of  servile  degradation,  or  of  passive  inertness. 

Some  interesting  results  of  the  actual  brain -weights  of 
Negroes  and  other  typical  representatives  of  inferior  savage 
races  have  been  published,  including  examples  of  both  sexes ; 
and  although  the  observations  are  as  yet  too  few  for  the 
deduction  of  any  absolute  or  very  comprehensive  conclusions, 
they  furnish  a  valuable  contribution  towards  this  department 
of  ethnical  comparison.  In  1865,  Dr.  Peacock  published  the 
results  of  observations  on  the  brains  of  four  Negroes  and  two 
Negresses ;  and  to  those  lie  subsequently  added  a  seventh 
example.^  Others  are  included  in  the  following  table.  But  I 
have  excluded  some  extremes  of  variation,  such  as  the  two 
given  by  Mascagni,  one  of  which  weighed  1458  grammes,  or 
51  "5  oz.  av.,  and  the  other  only  738  grammes,  or  26*1  oz.  av. 
In  addition  to  such  actual  brain-weights,  Morton,  Tiedemann, 
Davis,  Wyman,  and  others,  have  gauged  the  skulls  of  Negroes, 
American  Indians,  Mincopies,  Tasmanians,  Australians,  and 
other  savage  races,  as  well  as  those  of  many  civilised  and  semi- 
civilised  nations,  and  thereby  contributed  valuable  data  to- 
wards determining  their  relative  cranial  capacity.  In  his 
Crania  u^yyptiaca,  Dr.  Morton,  when  discussing  the  traces  of  a 
Negro  element  in  the  ancient  Egyptian  population,  says :  "  I 
have  in  my  possession  seventy-nine  crania  of  Negroes  born  in 
Africa,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  Drs.  Goheen  and  M'Dowell, 
lately  attached  to  the  medical  department  of  the  colony  of 
Liberia,  in  W(!stern  Africa ;  and  especially  to  Don  Jose  Kodri- 
guez  (Usnerns,  Mti.,  at  JJavana,  in  the  island  of  Cuba.  Of 
the  whole  number,  t]fl,y  n'mht  ata  tlt]u\t,  or  sixteen  years  of  age 
and  u]»wards,  and  give  eigl/ty  five  (•n)nc  inches  for  the  average 
»I/,M  of  the  brain.  TJie  largest  l/c/id  //joaRiires  ninety-nine 
ciibjf!  jnclies  ;  the  smallest  but  sixty  five.  Th«  Inlior,  which  is 
that  of  ft  iniddJe-aged  woman,  is  the  sinallfst  adult  Imui  M/ftt 
jf^fl^  hitherto  come  uinim  my  tmimt."  ^ 

I  if  fill.  Aiilluupol.  Soc.  I,ini4m,  itA-  I.  p.  W< 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      363 


TABLE  I 


NEGRO    BRAIN-WEIGHT 


Sex. 


M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 
M. 

F. 
F. 
F, 
F. 
F. 
F. 
F. 


Race. 


African,  Mozambiq\ic  . 


Buenos  Ayres 
Congo    . 


» 

M 
)» 
>» 
>> 
») 
)) 


Congo 


Hottentot  Venua 
Bushwoman  . 


African 


Authority. 


Peacock 


>> 
>> 

n 


SoBmmering 
Tiei '  emann 
C.  Luigi  Calori 
Barkow 


Sir  A.  Cooper 


Marshall 


Flower  and  Muri 
Peacock      .     . 


Weight. 


43-80 
45-80 
44-00 
46-^25 
4?-80 
45-40 
35-20 
44-40 
50-80 
45-90 
38-90 
49-00 

31-00 
30-75 
31-50 
31-00 
38-00 
46-00 
41-00 


The  influence  of  race  oii  the  volume,  weight,  disposition, 
and  relative  proportions  of  the  different  subdivisions  of  the 
human  brain,  and  so  of  brain  on  the  character  of  races,  has 
thus  far  been  very  partially  tested.  But  the  diversities  of 
race  head-forms — brachycephalic,  dolichocephalic,  platycephalic, 
acrocephalic,  etc. — are  now  well  recognised,  though  their  rela- 
tion to  cerebral  development  still  requires  much  research  for 
its  elucidation.  The  ancient  Koman  forehead,  as  illustrated 
by  classic  busts,  and  confirmed  by  genuine  lloman  skullSj  was 
low  but  broad,  and  the  whole  head  was  platycephalic.  The 
Greek  had  a  high  forehead,  and  the  works  of  the  Greek 
sculptors  show  that  this  was  regarded  as  typical.  But  con- 
temporary with  the  classic  races  were  the  Macrocephali  of  the 
Euxine  and  the  Caspian  Seas,  who,  like  many  modern  tribes 


364      RELATIVE  RACIAL  DRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


M'  ' 


ittii 


of  the  New  World,  purposely  aimed  at  depressing  a  naturally 
receding  forehead,  and  thereby  exaggerated  the  typical  fore- 
head characteristic  of  certain  ancient  barbaric  races. 

In  the  case  of  hybrids  the  interchange  of  physical  and 
mental  characteristics  of  the  parents,  including  modifications  of 
head-form,  is  a  familiar  fact.  The  English  head-form  appears 
to  be  ail  insular  product  of  intermingled  Briton,  Teuton,  and 
Scandinavian  elements,  which  has  no  continental  analogue; 
and  its  subdivisions,  or  sub -types,  vary  with  the  ethnical 
intermixture.  The  Scottish  head  appears  to  exceed  the  Eng- 
lish in  length,  while  the  latter  is  higher.  Where  the  (Jeltic 
element  most  predominates,  the  longer  form  of  head  is  found ; 
but  even  in  the  most  Teutonic  districts  the  difference  between 
the  prevailing  head-form  and  that  of  the  continental  German 
is  so  marked  that  the  latter  finds  it  difficult  to  obtain  an 
English-made  hat  which  will  fit  his  head.*  Here  the  diversi- 
ties of  head-form  are  accompanied  with  no  less  marked 
differences  of  individual  and  national  character.  • 

Professor  Welcker  determined  the  average  capacity  of  the 
German  male  skull  as  1450  cubic  centimetres,  equivak-.t  to 
88  cubic  inches,  and  representing  an  average  brain- weight  uf 
49  oz.  Dr.  Davis,  by  a  similar  process,  assigns  to  the  Ger- 
mans, male  and  female,  the  larger  mean  brain-weight  of 
50*28  oz.  ;  but  by  combining  the  means  of  botli  sexes,  as 
derived  from  his  own  tables  and  those  of  Huschke  and  Wagner, 
we  obtain  a  mean  weight  of  German  brain  of  1314  grms.,  or 
46"37  oz.  The  results  of  an  extensive  series  of  observations 
by  Dr.  Broca,  on  the  male  French  skull,  yield  a  mean  capacity 
of  1502  cubic  centimetres,  or  91  cubic  inches,  representing  an 
average  brain- weight  of  50*6  oz.  Morton,  taking  his  average 
from  five  English  skulls,  gives  the  great  internal  capacity  of 
96  cubic  inches ;  while  Davis  arrives  at  a  capacity  of  only  90  9 
cubic  inches  from  the  examination  of  thirty-two  skulls,  male  and 
female ;  and  for  the  Scottish  and  Irish,  each  of  91  "2  cubic  inches, 
from  an  examination  of  thirty-five  skulls.  But  unfortunately 
the  Davis  collection,  so  rich  in  other  respects,  derived  its  chief 
English  specimens  from  a  phrenological  collection ;  and,  along 
with    a  few  large    skulls,    contains   "  many   small  and   poor 

*  VOc  "  Physical  Characteristics  of  the  Ancient  and  Modern  Celt :"  Cana- 
dian Journal,  vol.  vii.  p.  369. 


RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      365 


English  examples."  ^  The  average  weight  )f  the  English  brain 
may  therefore,  as  Dr.  Davis  admits,  bo  (issumed  to  be  higher 
than  the  mean  determined  by  liini.  "Still  a  comparisoii  with 
actually  tested  weights  of  brains  shows  that  there  cannot  be 
any  material  error."  The  average  brain-weight  of  twenty-one 
Englishmen,  as  given  by  him,  is  50'28  oz.,  that  of  thirteen 
women  is  43"13;  and  of  the  combined  series,  4750.  The 
results  determined  by  the  same  process  in  relation  to  the 
other  nationalities  of  Europe  are  exhiln  ed  in  detail  in  Dr. 
Davis's  tables,  printed  in  *\\k:^  Philosophical  Transactions. 

Surli  averages  are,  at  best,  only  approximations  to  true 
results;  and  when  obtained,  as  in  V  irton's  English  race,  from 
a  very  few  examples,  or  in  Davis's,  from  exceptional  skulls, 
collected  under  peculiar  circumstances  or  for  '  special  purpose, 
they  must  be  tested  by  other  observations.  According  to  Dr. 
Morton,  for  example,  the  mean  internal  cai)acity  of  the  English 
h(!ad  is  96  cubic  inches,  while  that  of  the  Anglo-American  is 
only  90  cubic  inches.  Such  a  conclusion,  if  established  as  the 
result  of  comparison  of  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  well-authen- 
ticated skulls,  would  be  of  great  importance  in  its  bearing  on  the 
influence  of  change  of  climate,  diet,  habits,  etc.,  as  elements 
affecting  varieties  of  the  human  race.  But  determined  as  it 
was  in  the  Morton  collectiou,  from  five  English  and  seven 
Anglo-. ^.ni'rican  specimens,  it  can  be  regarded  as  little  more 
than  a  m<^re  chance  result.  Kanged  nearly  in  the  order  of 
mean  internal  capacity  of  skull,  the  following  are  the  results 
arrived  at,  mainly  by  gauging  the  skulls  in  various  collections 
available  for  such  comparisons  of  different  races  of  mankind. 
In  presenting  them  here,  I  avail  myself  of  Dr.  Thurnam's 
researches,  augmenting  them  with  other  data  subsequently 
published,  including  results  deduced  from  Dr.  Davis's  minute 
reports  of  his  own  extensive  collections,  and  taking  Tiede- 
mann's  capacity  of  9  2 '3  for  the  European  skull  as  100. 


Thesaurus  Craniorum  (Appendix),  p.  347. 


m 


« 


11 


I' 


I 

.    f' 

i 

.  ■.•! 

I 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


// 


w 


^  A. 


t 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


^   1^    12.0 


III! 


I 


lA 


U    1 1.6 


"^ 


VS 


^. 


/. 


/A 


Photogiaphic 
_Sciaices 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.V.  MS80 

(716)  873-4503 


366      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


TABLE  II 

RATIO    OF    CUBICAL    CAPACITY    OF    SKULLS    OF  DIFFERENT   RACES 


Race. 

Authority. 

1 
Capacity. 

European 

Asiatic 

African 

American 

11           

))           

Oceanic 

Chinese 

Mongol 

11 

Hindoo  

Malay 

American  Indian  .... 

Esquimaux 

Mexican 

Peruvian 

11            

Negro 

» 

Hottentot 

Javan     

Tasmanian 

Ausivalian 

11            

Tiedemann 

Davis 

»          

Tiedemann 

Davis 

Morton 

Davis 

>>          

Morton 

Tiedemann 

Davis 

Tiedemann 

Morton 

Davis 

Morton 

Wyman 

Morton 

Tiedmann 

Peacock  .     ,.     ,     '.     .     .     . 

Morton  . 

Davis 

11         

Morton 

Davis 

100- 
94-3 
93- 
95- 
94-7 
87- 
96-9 
99-8 
94- 
93- 
89-4 
89- 
91- 
98-8 
88-5 
81-2 
81-2 
91- 
88- 
86- 
948 
88- 
88- 
87-9 

The  tables  of  Dr.  Morton  and  Dr.  Davis  furnish  materials 
for  drawing  comparisons  between  diverse  nations  of  the  great 
European  family ;  but  though  they  are  of  value  as  contribu- 
tions to  the  required  means  for  ethnical  comparison,  they  *all 
far  short  of  determining  the  average  cranial  capacity  of  the 
different  nationalities.  Whilst,  for  example,  the  tabular  data 
in  the  Thesaurus  Craniorum  show  a  mean  internal  capacity 
of  94  cubic  inches  for  the  combined  Teutonic  family,  the 
Finns  yield  the  higher  mean  capacity  of  96*3  cubic 
inches.  Again,  Dr.  Thurnam  found  that  the  results 
of  the  weighing  of  fifty-nine  brains  of  patients  at  the  Friends* 
Retreat  near  York,  mostly  persons  of  the  middle  class  of 
society,  yielded  weights  cousiderably  above  those  which  he 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      367 


subsequently  obtained  from  testing  those  of  pauper  patients  in 
Wilts  and  Somerset.  But  this  has  to  be  estimated  along  with 
the  undoubted  ethnical  differences  which  separate  the  popula- 
tion of  Yorkshire  from  that  of  Somerset  and  Wilt5«hire.  An 
interesting  paper  in  the  West-Riding  Asylum  Reports  gives 
the  results  cf  the  determination  of  716  brain- weights,  rather 
more  than  half  being  males.  The  average  is  48*149  oz.  for 
the  male,  and  4 3 "8 72  for  the  female  brain;  whereaa  the 
average  weights  of  267  male  brains  of  a  similar  class  of 
patients  in  the  Wilts  County  Asylum,  as  given  by  Dr. 
Thurnam,  is  46*2  oz.,  and  of  213  female  brains,  4 10  oz.  The 
results  of  the  observations  carried  on  by  Dr.  Boyd  at  St 
Marylebone  yield,  from  680  male  English  brains,  a  mean 
weight  of  47 "1  oz.,  and  from  744  female  brains  a  mean 
weight  of  42  "3  oz. ;  whereas  Dr.  Peacock  determined,  from 
183  cases  in  the  Edinburgh  Infirmary,  the  weight  of  the  male 
Scottish  brain  to  average  49'7,  and  that  of  the  female  brain  to 
average  44*3  oz.  Here  the  results  are  determined  by  so 
numerous  a  series  that  they  might  be  accepted  as  altogether 
reliable,  were  it  not  that  in  the  former  case  they  are  based  to 
a  large  extent  on  a  purely  pauper  class  ;  whereas  the  patient.^ 
of  the  Royal  Infirmary  of  Edinburgh  include  respectable 
mechanics  and  others  from  many  parts  of  Sc  tland,  among 
whom  education  is  common.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted,  indeed, 
that  a  considerable  difference  in  the  form  and  size  of  the  head, 
and  no  doubt  also  in  brain-weight,  is  to  be  looked  for  amongst 
English,  Scotch,  Irish,  German  and  French  men  and  women, 
according  to  the  county  or  province  of  which  they  are  natives, 
and  the  class  of  society  to  which  they  belong. 

The  comparative  ratio  of  the  cubical  capacity  of  the  skull, 
or  the  average  brain-weight,  in  so  far  as  either  is  indicative  of 
ethnical  differences  among  members  of  the  European  family  of 
nations,  has  thus  to  be  determined  by  numerous  examples ;  or 
dealt  with  in  detail  in  reference  to  tho  different  nationalities. 
Even  in  single  provinces  or  counties,  social  position,  and 
probably  education,  must  be  taken  into  account;  so  that  a 
series  of  observations  on  hospital  and  pauper  patients  may  be 
expected  to  fall  below  the  general  average ;  and  fallacious 
comparisons  between  European  peoples  may  be  based  on  data, 
correct  enough  jpcr  sc,  but  unjust  when  placed  alongside  of  a 


t 


I. 


m 

ft'  ■•  II 


ii:.: 


368      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


^;*>-^ 


different  class  of  results.  The  great  mass  of  evidence  in  refer- 
ence to  brain-weight  has  thus  far  been  mainly  derived,  in  the 
case  of  the  sane,  from  one  rank  of  life,  A  comparison  of  the 
results  with  those  derived  from  che  insp.ne  of  various  classes  of 
society  shows  less  discrepancy  than  might  have  been  antici- 
pated. But  there  are  certain  cases  of  hydrocephalous  and 
other  abnormally  enlarged  brains  which  have  to  be  rigorously 
excluded  from  any  estimate  of  the  size  or  weight  of  the  brain, 
either  as  a  race-test  or  as  an  index  of  comparative  mental  power. 
Were  it  possible  to  select  from  among  the  great  intellects 
of  all  ages  an  adequate  series  of  representative  men,  aid 
ascertain  their  brain- weights,  or  even  the  cubical  capacity  of 
their  skulls,  one  important  step  would  be  gained  towards  the 
determination  of  the  relation  between  size  of  brain  and  power 
ox  intellect.  But  we  have  little  other  data  than  such  hints  as 
the  busts  of  ^schylus,  Pericles,  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  and 
other  leaders  of  thought  may  supply.  Malcolm  Canmore — 
Malcolm  of  the  great  head,  as  his  name  implied, — stands  forth 
with  marked  individuality  from  out  the  shadowy  roll  of  names 
which  figure  in  early  Scottish  history.  Charlemagne,  we 
should  fancy,  merited  a  similar  designation.  But  the  portraits 
of  his  modern  imperial  successor,  Charles  V.,  show  no  such 
loftiness  of  forehead.  Judging  from  the  portraits  and  busts  of 
Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Cromwell,  Napoleon,  and  Scott, 
their  brains  must  have  considerably  exceeded  the  ordinary  size. 
In  the  report  of  the  post-mortem  examination  of  Scott,  the 
physicians  state  that  "  the  brain  was  not  large."  But  this,  no 
doubt,  means  relatively  to  the  internal  capacity  of  the  skull  in 
its  then  disec>.sed  condition.  The  intermastoid  arch,  as  already 
noted,  shows  a  remarkably  exceptional  magnitude  of  1 9  inches, 
whereas  the  average  of  fifty-eight  ancient  and  modern  Europf^an 
skulls,  as  given  in  the  Thesmirus  Craniorum,  is  only  14*t)0. 
The  portraits  of  Woidsworth  and  Byron  show  an  ample  fore- 
head ;  and  the  popular  recognition  of  the  "  fair  large  front "  of 
Milton's  typical  man  as  the  index  of  superior  intellect  is  an 
induction  universally  accepted.  Buc,  on  the  other  hand, 
examples  of  intellectual  greatness  undoubtedly  occur  with  the 
brain  little,  if  at  all,  in  excess  of  the  average  size.  On  the 
discovery  of  Dante's  remains  at  !Havenna  in  1865,  the  skull 
was  pronounced  to  be  ample,  and  exquisite  in  form.      But  its 


^ 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      369 

actual  cubical  capacity  and  estimated  brain-weight  fall  con- 
siderably below  those  of  the  highest  ascertained  brain-weights 
of  distinguished  men.  Again,  looking  at  the  casts  of  the  skulls 
of  Robert  the  Bruce  and  the  poet  Burns,  the  first  impression  is 
the  comparatively  small  size  of  head,  and  the  moderate  frontal 
development  in  each.  Robert  Listen,  the  eminent  surgeon, 
remarked  of  the  former :  "  The  division  of  the  cranium  behind 
the  meatus  auditorius  is  large  in  proportion  to  that  situated 
before  it.  The  skull  is  also  remarkably  wide  and  capacious  in 
that  part,  whereas  the  forehead  is  rather  depressed;"*  and 
more  recent  observers  have  not  hesitated  to  recognise  in  it  a 
reversion  to  the  Canstadt  type  of  the  primitive  European 
savage.  Other  characteristics  so  markedly  indicate  the  ele- 
ments of  physical  rather  than  intellectual  vigour,  that  Listen 
expressly  pointed  out  the  analogy  to  "  the  heads  of  carnivorous 
animals."  The  Bruce  was  indeed  pre-eminently  distinguished 
for  courage  and  deeds  of  personal  prowess ;  but  it  was  no  less 
by  states  ■  nanlike  qualities,  calm,  resolute  perseverance,  and 
wise  prudence,  that  he  achieved  the  independence  of  his 
country. 

George  Combe,  the  phrenologist,  to  whom  the  original  cast 
of  Burns's  skull  was  first  submitted,  thus  states  the  case  in 
reference  to  the  frontal  development  of  the  po",t:  "An  unskil- 
ful observer  looking  at  the  forehead  might  suppose  it  to  be 
moderate  in  size;  but  when  the  dimensions  of  the  anterior 
lobe,  in  both  length  and  breadth,  are  attended  to,  the  intellec- 
tual organs  will  be  recognised  to  have  been  large.  The 
anterior  lobe  projects  so  much  that  it  gives  an  appearance  of 
narrowness  to  the  forehead  which  is  not  real."^  The  actual 
dimensions  of  the  skull  are,  longitudinal  diameter,  8  inches ; 
parietal  diameter,  5'95  ;  and  horizontal  circumference,  22*25. 

In  the  year  1865  the  bones  of  Italy's  greatest  poet,  Dante, 
were  submitted  to  a  minute  examination  under  the  direction 
of  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Italian  Government  to 
verify  the  discovery;  and  careful  measurements  were  taken 
of  the  skull.  Dr.  H.  C.  Barlow,  describing  it  from  personal 
observation,  says :  "  The  head  was  finely  formed,  and  the 
cranium  showed,  by  its  ample  and  exquisite  form,  that  it  had 

1  Arehmologia  Scotica,  vol.  ii.  p.  450, 
'  Phrenological  Development  of  Robert  Bums,  by  George  Combe,  p.  7. 

2b 


('-!: 


!!:■• 


370      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

held  the  brain  of  no  ordinary  man.  It  was  the  most  intel- 
lectually developed  head  that  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen. 
The  occipital  region  was  prominently  marked,  but  the  frontal 
was  also  amply  and  broadly  expanded,  and  the  anterior  part 
of  the  frontal  bone  had  a  vertical  direction  in  relation  to  tlie 
bones  of  the  face"  {Athenccum,  September  9,  1865).  But 
however  intellectually  developed  and  exquisite  in  form  the 
poet's  skull  may  have  appeared,  the  actual  measurements  fall 
short  of  the  amplitude  here  assigned  to  it.  The  dimensions 
are  as  follows :  Internal  capacity,  determined  by  filling  the 
calvarium  with  grains  of  rice,  3"1321  lbs.  av.,  or  a  little 
over  50  oz. ;  circumference,  52  cent.  5  mill.,  occipito-frontal 
diameter,  3 1  cent.  7  mill. ;  transverse  diameter,  taken  between 
the  ears,  31  cent.  8  mill.  ;  height,  14  cent.  If  the  internal 
capacity  is  accepted  without  any  correction,  it  would  yield 
57  oz.,  but  if  allowance  be  made,  as  in  the  actual  weighing  of 
the  brain,  for  the  abstraction  of  the  dura  mater  and  fluids,  of 
say  8  per  cent,  this  would  reduce  it  to  about  5  2 '5,  or  nearly 
the  same  weight  as  that  of  the  mathematician.  Gauss.  Pro- 
fessor Welcker  deducts  from  11-6  to  14  per  cent,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  skull ;  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis  recommends  a  uniform 
deduction  of  10  per  cent.  If  we  apply  the  latter  rule,  it  will 
reduce  the  estimated  weight  of  Daate's  brain  to  51*3  oz.^ 

Another  interesting  example  of  the  skull  of  an  Italian  poet 
is  that  of  Ugo  Foscolo,  a  cast  of  which  was  taken  on  the 
transfer  of  his  remains  to  the  Church  of  Santa  Crore  at 
Florence.  Though  only  fifty  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  the  skull  was  marked  by  "  the  entire  ossification  of  the 
coronal,  sagittal,  and  lambdoidal  sutures,  and  that  atrophy  of 
the  outer  table,  manifested  by  a  depression  on  each  side  in  the 
posterior  half  of  each  parietal,  leaving  an  elevated  ridge  in  the 

^  The  use  of  different  standards  of  weights  and  measures,  and  of  diverse 
materials  for  determining  the  capacity  of  the  skull  in  different  countries,  greatly 
complicates  the  researches  of  the  craniologist.  Some  pains  have  been  taken  here 
to  bring  the  various  weights  and  measurements  to  a  common  standard.  In 
attempting  to  do  so  in  reference  to  the  weight  of  brain  of  Italy's  great  poet,  the 
following  process  was  adopted  :  It  was  ascertained  by  experiment  that  912  "5  grs. 
of  rice,  well  shaken  down,  occupied  the  space  of  1000  grs.  of  water.  Hence 
3-1321  lbs.  rice =3 -4324  water.  Multiplying  this  by  1-04,  the  s.g.  of  brain,  the 
result  is  the  capacity  of  the  skull,  viz.  3'5697  lbs.,  or  57  oz.,  as  given  above. 
In  this  and  other  investigations  embodied  in  the  present  paper,  I  was  indebted  to 
the  valuable  co-operation  of  my  late  friend  and  colleague,  Professor  H.  H.  Croft, 


5  RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-V'EIGHT  AND  SIZE      371 

middle,  in  the  position  of  the  sagittal,  which  is  but  rarely 
observed  except  in  extremely  advanced  age."^  Sir  Henry 
Holland,  who  knew  the  poet  intimately,  describes  him  as  resem- 
bling in  temperament  the  painter  Fuseli,  "  passionately  eccen- 
tric in  social  life."  Full  of  genius  and  original  thought,  as  the 
writings  of  Foscolo  show  him  to  have  been,  he  "  was  fiery  and 
impulsive,  almost  to  the  verge  of  madness,"  ^  He  died  in 
England  in  obscurity  and  neglect;  but  a  regenerated  Italy 
recalled  the  memory  of  her  lost  poet,  and  transferred  his 
remains  to  Santa  Croce's  consecrated  soil.  The  estimated  size 
of  his  brain  is  given  as  1426  cubic  cents.,  equivalent  to  87 
cubic  inches  internal  capacity,  which  corresponds  to  a  weight  of 
brain  of  48-44  oz.  The  longitudinal  diameter  is  6*90  ;  the 
parietal  diameter  5-70  ;  the  intermastoid  arch  15'0  ;  and  the 
horizontal  circumference  520  mm,,  or  20*5  inches.  The  brain 
capacity  of  the  poet  was  thus  little  more  than  the  European 
mean  deduced  by  Morton  from  the  miscellaneous  examples  in 
his  collection. 

Dr.  J,  C.  Gustav  Lucae,  in  his  Zur  Organischen  Formenlchre, 
furnishes  views  and  measurements  of  two  other  skulls  of  men 
of  known  intellectual  capacity.  One  of  these  is  Johan  Jacob 
Wilhelm  Heinse,  the  author  of  ArdingheUo,  a  work  of  high 
character  in  the  elements  of  aesthetic  criticism,  though  as  a 
romance  fit  to  rank  with  Don  Juan  in  subjective  significance 
and  morality.  He  wrote  another  romance  entitled  Hildeyard; 
in  addition  to  numerous  articles  and  translations  of  Petronius, 
Tasso,  etc,  which  won  for  him  the  high  commendation  of 
Goethe,  and  the  more  guarded  admiration  of  Wieland,  His 
skull,  as  figured  by  Dr.  Lucae,  shows  the  frontal  suture  still 
open  at  the  age  of  fifty-three,  at  which  he  died.  The  internal 
capacity  of  the  skull  is  stated  as  41-4  oz.,  equivalent  to  1173 
grms.  In  this,  as  in  other  examples  hereafter  referred  to, 
Dr.  Lucae  has  gauged  the  capacity  of  the  skull  with  peas,  and 
gives  the  weight  in  "  unzen."  In  the  results  deduced  from 
them  here  the  unzen  are  assumed  to  be  Prussian  ounces,  the 
lb.  of  12  oz.  equal  to  350*78348  grms.  As  already  noted, 
the  determination  of  the  internal  capacity  of  the  skull  by 
varying  tests,  such  aa  pease,  rice,  and  sands  of  diverse  degrees 

^  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis,  3upp.  Thesaurus  Craniorum,  p.  7. 
'  Sir  H.  Holland's  Recollections  of  Past  Life,  p.  254. 


I't 


372      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

of  fineness,  leads  to  uncertain  results.  L.  those  here  deduced 
from  the  data  furnished  by  Dr.  Lucae,  the  unzen  have  been 
tested  by  a  series  of  experiments  made  with  a  view  to  correct 
the  error  necessarily  resulting  from  the  fact  that  peas  do  not 
entirely  fill  the  cavity.  The  results  show  that  8  2 '5  grms.  of 
ordinary  sized  peas  occupy  the  space  of  100  grms.  of  water. 
Deducting  10  per  cent  for  membranes  and  fluids,  the  esti- 
mated brain-weight  of  Heinse  is  1379  grms.  or  48'7  oz.  av. 
The  dimensions  of  the  skull  are  given  thus : — 


Height. 

Length. 

Breadth. 

Fore  part 
Middle  part      , 
Hind  part 

4-9 

410 

3-9 

40 

311 

3-6 

410 

5-3 

41 

The  other  example  produced  by  Dr.  Lucae  is  that  of  Dr. 
Christian  Heinrich  Biinger,  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Marburg.  In  this  skull  the  frontal  suture  is  still 
more  strongly  defined  at  the  age  of  sixty  than  in  that  of  Heinse. 
The  internal  capacity  of  the  skull  is  stated  as  42 "8  oz.,  equiva- 
lent to  1213  grms.,  which,  dealt  with  as  above  stated,  yields 
1410  grms.  or  49*8  oz.  av.  Other  dimensions  of  the  skull  are 
given  as  follows : — 


Height. 

Length. 

Breadth. 

Fore  part 
Middle  part 
Hind  part 

4-8 
4-9 
3-7 

41 
41 
310 

4-20 

50 

4-1 

The  premature  ossification  of  the  sagittal  suture,  by  arrest- 
ing the  expansion  of  the  brain  laterally,  is  a  frequent  source 
of  abnormal  elongation  of  the  head.  On  the  other  hand  the 
frontal  suture,  which  ordinarily  closes  in  the  man-child  before 
birth,  though  persistent  in  the  lowe^  nnimals,  is  occasionally 
found  to  remain  open  in  man  till  Ui.iturity,  as  in  the  twc 
notable  cases  here  described.     Darwin  refers  to  it  as  a  case  of 


w 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WETGHT  AND  SIZE      373 

arrested  development.  "  This  suture,"  he  says,  "  occasionally 
persists,  more  or  less  distinctly,  in  man  after  maturity,  and 
more  frequently  in  ancient  than  ia  recent  crania ;  especially, 
as  Canestrini  has  observed,  in  those  exhumed  from  the  Drift, 
and  belonging  to  the  brachycephalic  type.  In  this  and  other 
instances  the  cause  of  ancient  races  approaching  the  lower 
animals  in  certain  characters  more  frequently  than  do  the 
modern  races,  appears  to  be  that  the  latter  stand  at  a  some- 
what greater  distance  in  the  long  line  of  descent  from  their 
early  semi-human  progenitors."  ^  It  may  be  permissible  to 
express  a  doubt  as  to  this  relative  frequency  of  the  occurrence 
of  the  frontal  suture  in  ancient  and  modern  races,  since  the 
great  naturalist  does  not  state  it  as  a  result  of  his  own  observa- 
tions. Not  only  am  I  led  to  do  so  from  repeatedly  noting  its 
occurrence  in  modern  crania ;  but  its  effect  can  in  no  way 
favour  arrested  development.  It  must  rather  admit  of  the 
free  expansion  of  the  frontal  lobes  of  the  brain,  the  decrease 
of  which  in  a  progressive  ratio  is  characteristic  of  the  orang, 
chimpanzee,  and  baboon. 

On  the  general  question  of  cranial  development  as  an  index 
of  cerebral  capacity.  Professor  Welcker  assigns  a  standard, 
which  was  accepted  by  Dr.  Thurnam,  thus :  "  Skulls  of  more 
than  540  to  550  millimetres  in  horizontal  circumference  (the 
weight  of  brain  belonging  to  which  is  1490  to  1560  grms., 
or  52'5-55  oz.  av.),  are  to  be  regarded  as  exceptionally 
large.  The  designation  of  kephalones,  proposed  by  Virchow, 
might  commence  from  this  point.  Men  with  great  mental 
endowments  fall,  for  the  most  part,  under  the  definition  of 
kephalony.  If  we  consider  the  relations  of  capacity,  1800 
gims.  (6  3  "5  oz.)  appears  to  be  the  greatest  attainable  weight 
of  brain  within  a  skull  not  pathologically  enlarged."  But  the 
brain  of  Cuvier — the  heaviest  healthy  brain  yet  recorded, 
— exceeded  this.  Its  weight  is  stated  by  Wagner  as  1861 
grms.,  or  65*8  oz. ;  but  this  M.  Broca  corrects  to  1829*96 
grms.  Even  thus  reduced  it  exceeds  the  limits  assigned  by 
Professor  "Welcker  to  the  normal  healthy  brain.  But  a  curious 
commentary  upon  this  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that  the  modem 
English  skull  which  Dr.  Davis  selects  as  presenting  the  most 
striking  analogy  to  the  Neanderthal  skuE — "  the  most  ape-like 
*  The  Descent  of  Man,  vol.  L  p.  120.    Appieton  ed. 


374      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

skull  which  Professor  Huxley  had  ever  beheld," — though 
marked  not  only  by  the  prominence  of  the  superciliary  ridges, 
but  by  great  depression  of  the  frontal  region,  appears  to  have 
a  cubical  capacity  equivalent  to  that  of  Dr.  Abercrombie, 
whose  brain  is  only  surpassed  by  tliat  of  Cuvier  among  the 
ascertained  brain-weights  of  distinguished  men.^  Its  capacity 
is  94  oz.  of  sand,  or  113  cubic  inches,  equivalent — after 
making  the  requisite  deduction  for  membranes  and  fluids, — to 
a  brain- weight  of  63  oz. 

I  have  attempted  in  the  following  table  to  reduce  to  some 
common  standard  such  imperfect  glimpses  as  are  recoverable 
of  the  cranial  capacity  of  some  distinguished  men,  of  whose 
actual  brain-weights  no  record  exists: — 

^       TABLE   III 

CRANIAL    CAPACITY    OF    DISTINGUISHED    MEN 


Dante  .... 
Robert  the  Bruce 
Bums  .... 
Scott  (head)    . 
Heinse 

Bilnger     .     .     . 
Ugo  Foscolo  . 


■,_,, 

V 

-M 

S 
a 

S 

ted 
eigh 

J 

4 

.2 

a 

1           Lengi; 

1 

_ 

61-3 

7-70 

6-25 

22-25 

8-00 

5-95 

22-25 

900 

6-40 

23-10 

5-30 

48-7 

5  00 

49-8 

6-90 

5-70 

20-50 

48-4 

Some  of  the  examples  adduced  in  the  above  table  appear 
to  exhibit  instances  of  mental  endowment  of  high  character, 
without  the  corresponding  degree  of  cranial,  and  consequently 
cerebral  development.  The  following  table  exhibits  recorded 
examples  of  a  series  of  actual  brain-weights  of  distinguished 
men.  It  seems  to  lend  confirmation  to  the  idea  that  great 
manifestation    of    mental    endowment   is    correlated,   in   the 

^  Memoirs  of  ArUhrop.  Soe.  London,  vol.  i.  p.  289.      Thesaurus  Craniorum,  p.  49. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  DRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      37$ 


majority   of   observed    cases,  to  a   brain    above   the    normal 
average  in   mass   or   weight.     But  even   here    intellect  and 
brain-weight  are  not  strictly  in  uniform  ratio.      Sev(  ral  of  the 
following    brain -weights,   including    that   of   Tiedeniann,   are 
furnished    by    Wagner,  in    the    Vorstudien    des    Menschlichen 
Gehirns ;    but  in   an   elaborate   table   of  brain-weights   given 
in  the  Morphologie  und  j^hysiologic  des  Menschlichen  gehirns  als 
Seelenoi'gan,   the  brain  of  Byron  is  classed  above  all  except 
Cuvier;    whUe  Vogt  gives   the  same  pkce,  by  estimate,  to 
Schiller's,  as  next  in  rank   to   that   of  the   great   naturalist 
among    highly   developed   brains.       Dr.   Thurnam   states    his 
authorities  for  others,  when  producing  them  in  his  valuable 
contribution  to  the  Journal  of  Mental  Science  "  On  the  Weight 
of  the  Brain."     For  that  of  Webster  he  refers  to  "  the  unsatis- 
factory article  on  the  brain  of  Daniel  Webster,  Edin.  Med.  Surg. 
Journ.,  vol.  Ixxix.  p.  3  5  5."     Dr.  J.  C.   Nott,  in  his   "  Com- 
parative Anatomy  of  Races  "  (I'l/pes  of  Mankind,  p.  453),  says  : 
"  Dr.  Wyman,  in  his  post-mortem  examination  of  the  famed 
Daniel  Webster,  found  the  internal  capacity  of  the  cranium 
to  be  122  cubic  inches,  and  in  a  private  letter  to  me,  he  says: 
'The  circumference  was  measured  outside  of  the  integuments 
before  the  scalp  was  removed,  and  may,  perhaps,  as  there  was 
mucii  emaciation,  be  a  little  less  than  in  health.'     It  was  23^ 
inches  in  circumference ;  and  the  Doctor  states  that  it  is  well 
known  there  are  several  heads  in  Boston  larger  than  Webster's. 
I  have  myself,  in  the  last  few  weeks,  measured  half  a  dozen 
heads  as  large  and  larger."     The  circumference,  it  will  be  seen, 
exceeds  the  corresponding  measurement  of  Scott's  head,  taken 
under  similar  circumstances.     But  the  statement  of  122  cubic 
inches  as  the  internal  capacity  of  Webster's  skull  seems  open 
to  question.     If  correct,  instead  of  5  3  "5  oz.  of  brain-weight 
as  stated  in  the  following  table,  it  is  the  equivalent  of  n.  brain- 
weight  of  fully  6  5  oz.,  or  one  in  excess  even  of  that  of  Cuvier. 
The  brain-weights  of  Goodsir,  Simpson,  and  Agassiz,  are  given 
in  the   following  table   from   the   reported  autopsy   in   each 
case : — 


m 


wM 


m  'il 


■  1 

376      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


TABLE    IV 


BRAIN-WEinilTS    OF    DISTINGUISHED    MEN 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 


Cuvier    .     .     . 
Byron     .     .     . 
Abercronibie    . 
Schiller .     .      . 
Qoodsir  . 
George  Brown . 
Harrison 
Spurzheim  . 
Simpson 
Dirichlet     . 
De  Morny  . 
Napoleon  I. 
Daniel  Webster 
Campbell     . 


15 

Agassiz  . 

16 

Chalmers 

17 

Fuchs     . 

18 

De  Morgan 

19 

Gauss 

20 

Broca     . 

21 

Dupuytren 

22 

Grote      . 

23 

Whewell 

24 

Hermann 

25 

Tiedemann 

26 

Hausraann 

Naturalist   .... 

Poet 

Philosopher,  Physician 

Poet 

Anatomist    .... 
Statesman  (Canadian) . 
Chief  Justice     .     . 
Phrenologist,  Physician 
Physician,  Archieologist 
Mathematician .     . 
Statesman    .... 
General,  Statesman     . 
Statesman    .... 
Lord  Chancellor    .     . 
Naturalist    .... 
Author,  Preacher  . 
Pathologist  .... 
Mathematician . 
Mathematician . 
Anthropologist 

Surgeon  

Historian     .... 
Philosopher      .     . 
Philologist  .... 
Physiologist      .     . 
Mineralogist     .     .     . 


Age. 


Oz. 


63 

30 
64 
46 
53 
61 
45 
56 
59 
54 
60 
52 
70 
80 
66 
67 
52 
73 
78 

58 
76 
71 
51 

80 

77 


64-6 

63-5  ? 

63- 

63? 

67-55 

56-3 

66- 

56-06 

64- 

53-6 

53-6 

o3-6 

53-6 

63-5 

53-4 

53- 

52-9 

52-7 

52-6 

52-8 

50-7 

49-76 

49- 

47-9 

44-2 

432 


Omis. 


1H30 
1799 
1785 
1785 
1629 
1595 
1686 
1575 
1530 
1520 
1520 
1516 
1516 
1516 
1512 
1502 
1499 
1493 
1492 
1488 
1436 
1410 
1390 
1358 
1254 
1226 


Dr.  Thurnam,  in  producing  fifteen  of  the  above  examples, 
remarks :  "  Altogether,  they  decidedly  confirm  the  generally 
received  view  of  the  connection  between  size  of  brain  and 
mental  power  and  intelligence ; "  and  he  adds  his  conviction 
that  if  the  examination  of  the  brain  in  the  upper  ranks  of 
society,  and  in  men  whose  mental  endowments  are  well  known, 
were  more  generally  available,  further  confirmation  would  be 
given  to  this  conclusion.  The  converse,  at  least,  is  certain, 
that  no  great  intelligence  or  unwonted  mental  power  is  possible 
with  a  brain  much  below  the  average  in  mass  and  weight 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      377 


But  while  the  above  list  exhibits  a  series  of  exceptionally 
high  brain-wei<,'hts  of  distinguished  men,  the  relative  weights 
in  some  cases — as  m  Napoleon — are  calculated  to  excite 
surprise  if  viewed  as  an  index  of  comparative  intellectual 
capacity.  On  the  other  hand,  those  lowest  in  the  scale, 
and  below  the  mean  weiglit,  include  men  of  undoubted 
eminence  in  letters  and  science ;  while  the  proofs  are  no  less 
unquestionable  that  a  large  healthy  brain  is  not  invariably  the 
organ  of  unwonted  intelligence  or  mental  activity. 

In  the  Philosophical  Transact iona  of  1861,  L)r.  Boyd  pub- 
lished an  elaborate  series  of  researches  illustrative  of  the 
weight  of  various  organs  of  the  human  body,  incUuling  the 
weights  of  two  thousand  brains.  Most  of  the  healthy  brains 
are  those  of  patients  in  the  St.  Marylebone  Infirmary,  and 
have  already  been  referred  to  as  necessarily  representing  the 
indigent  and  uneducated  classes  of  London.  Here,  therefore, 
if  an  unusually  large  brain  is  the  index  of  intellectual  power, 
every  probability  was  against  the  occurrence  of  brains  above 
the  averajje  size  or  weight.  But  the  results  bv  no  means 
confirm  this  assumption.  Among  the  patients  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Royal  Infirmary,  in  like  manner,  though  including  the 
better  class  of  artizans  and  others  from  country  districts,  we 
might  still  look  for  a  confirmation  of  M.  Broca's  assumption, 
based  on  extensive  observations  of  French  crania,  "  that,  other 
things  being  equal,  wliether  as  the  result  of  educat'on,  or  by 
hereditary  transmission,  the  volume  of  the  skull,  and  (  nse- 
quently  of  the  brain,  is  greater  in  the  higher  than  in  the  li  er 
classes."  But  Dr.  Peacock's  tables  include  four  brain-weigh 
three  of  them  of  a  sailor,  a  printer,  and  a  tailor,  respectively, 
ranging  from  61  to  6  2*7  5  oz. ;  and  so  surpassing  all  but  two, 
or  at  the  most  three,  of  the  heaviest  ascertained  brain-weights 
of  distinguished  men.  Tried  by  the  posthumous  test  of  internal 
capacity,  three  skulls  of  nameless  Frenchmen,  derived  from  the 
common  cemeteries  of  Paris,  in  like  manner  showed  brains 
equalling  in  size  that  of  Cuvier.  The  following  are  the 
maximum  brain -weights  among  the  St.  Marylebone  patients 
apparently  unaffected  by  cerebral  disease : — 


Mil 


■Hi  I 


i  >i 


m 


?;*!, 


378      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEICHT  AND  SIZE 
V  TABLE  V 


MAXIMUM  BRAIN-WEIGHTS ST.  MARYLEBONE 


Age. 

Male. 

Female. 

Oz. 

Grins. 

Oz. 

Grms. 

7-14 
14-20 
20-30 
30-40 
40-50 
60-60 
60-70 
70-80 
80 
All  Agep. 

7-80 

57-25 
58-5 

60-75 

60- 

59- 

59-5 

55-25 

53-75 

GO-75 

1622 
1658 
1615 
1721 
1700 
1672 
1686 
1565 
1523 

1721 

62- 

52- 

55-25 

53- 

52-5 

52-5 

54- 

49-5 

48- 

55-25 

1473 
1473 
1565 
1502 
1488 
1488 
1530 
1403 
1360 

1565 

The  stature,  or  relative  size  of  body,  has  already  heen  re- 
ferred to  as  an  element  in  testing  the  comparative  male  and 
female  weight  of  brain  ;  and  it  is  one  which  ought  not  to  be 
overlooked  in  estimating  the  comparative  size  and  weight  of 
the  brains  of  distinguished  men.  From  my  own  recollectioLs 
of  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  was  of  moderate  stature,  his  head  ap- 
peared proportionally  large.  The  same  was  noticeable  in  the 
cases  of  Lord  Jeffrey,  Lord  Macaulay,  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson, 
and  veiy  markedly  so  in  that  of  De  Quincey.  The  philosopher 
Kant  was  also  of  small  stature  ;  and  Dr.  Thurnam  r>5fers  to  the 
observation  of  Cams  that  he  had  a  head  not  absolutely  large, 
though,  in  proportion  to  the  small  and  puny  body  of  that 
-rainent  thinker,  it  was  of  remarkable  size.  Among  the  large- 
brained  art.izans  of  the  Mr'rylebone  Infirmary,  on  the  contrary, 
the  probabilities  are  in  favour  of  a  majority  of  them  being  men 
of  full  muscular  development  and  ample  stature.  Neverthe- 
less, wUh  every  allowance  for  this,  it  still  remains  probable,  if 
not  demonstrable,  that  from  the  same  humble  and  unnoted 
class,  examples  of  megalocephaly  could  be  selected  little  short 
in  cerebral  mass,  and  apparently  in  brain- weight,  of  th-?  group 
of  men  whose  large  brains  are  recognised  as  the  concomitants 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      yj^ 


of  exceptionally  great  mental  capacity  and  intellectual  vigour. 
Unless,  therefore,  we  are  contented  to  accept  the  poet's  dictum, 
"  Their  lot  forbad,"  ^  and  assume  that  "  chill  penury  repressed 
their  noble  rage,  and  froze  the  genial  current  of  the  soul,"  it  is 
manifest  that  other  elements  besides  those  of  volume  or 
weight  are  essential  as  cerebral  indices  of  mental  power.  Dr. 
Thurnam,  after  noting  examples  that  had  come  under  his  own 
notice  of  brain-weights  above  the  medium — but  which,  as  those 
of  insane  patients,  may  be  assigned  to  other  causes  than  healthy 
cerebral  development, — adds  :  "  The  heaviest  brain  weighed 
by  me  (62  oz.,  or  1760  grms.)  was  that  of  an  uneducated 
butcher,  who  was  just  able  to  read,  and  who  died  suddenly  of 
epilepsy,  combined  with  mania,  after  about  a  year's  illness. 
The  head  was  large,  but  well-formed ;  the  brain  of  normal  con- 
sistence ;  the  puncta  vasculosa  numerous."  In  cases  like  this, 
of  weighty  brain  with  no  coiTesponding  manifestation  of  intel- 
lectual power,  something  else  wivs  wanting  besides  an  ampler 
sphere.  The  mere  position  of  a  humble  artizan  or  labourer 
will  not  suffice  to  mar  the  capacity  to  "  make  by  force  his 
merit  known,"  which  pertains  to  the  "  divinely  gifted  man." 

Ark  wright,  Franklin,Watt,  Stephenson,  Farraday,  Hugh  Miller, 
and  others  of  the  like  type  of  self-made  men,  are  not  rare. 
Among  the  large-brained  artizans,  scarcely  one  can  have  had  a 
more  limited  sphere  for  the  exercise  of  mental  vigour  than  the 
poet  Burns,  the  child  of  poverty  and  toil,  who  refers  to  his  own 
early  years  as  passed  in  ''  the  unceasing  moil  of  a  galley-slave." 
In  his  case  the  very  means  essential  to  a  healthy  physical 
development  were  stinted  at  the  most  critical  period  of  life. 
His  brother  Gilbert  says  :  "  We  lived  sparingly.  For  several 
years  butcher's  meat  was  a  stranger  to  the  house ;  while  all 
exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  of  their  strength,  and  rather 
beyond  it,  in  the  labours  of  the  farm.  My  brother,  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  assisted  in  thrashing  the  crop  of  corn,  and  at  fifteen 
was  the  principal  labourer  on  the  farm."  Such  premnture  toil 
and  privations  left  their  permanent  stamp  on  his  frame.  "  Ex- 
ternally, the  consequences  appeared  in  a  stoop  of  the  shoulders, 
which  never  left  him  ;  but  internally,  in  the  more  serious  form 
of  mental  depression,  attended  by  a  nervous  disorder  which 
atficted  the  movements  of  the  heart."     He  had  only  exchanged 

>  Grey's   Ulegy. 


i  '• 


l: 


i  1^ 


a  ■■ 


38o      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


the  toil  on  his  father's  farm  for  equally  unremitting  labour  on 
his  own,  when  the  finest  of  his  poems  were  written  ;  nor  would 
it  be  inconsistent  with  all  the  facts  to  assume  that  the  priva- 
tions of  his  early  life  diminished  his  capacity  foi-  continuous 
mental  activity  ;  as  it  undoubtedly  impaired  his  physical  con- 
stitution. But,  while  the  possession  of  a  brain  much  above 
the  average  in  size  might  have  seemed  to  account  for  his 
triumph  over  the  depressing  influences  of  his  limited  sphere, 
the  fact  that  his  brain  appears  to  have  been  below  the  average 
size,  points  to  some  other  requisite  than  mere  cerebral  mass  as 
essential  to  intellectual  vigour. 

The  brain  is  influenced  in  all  its  functions  by  the  character 
and  the  amount  of  blood  circulating  through  it,  and  promptly 
manifests  the  efftcts  of  any  deleterious  substance,  such  as 
alcohol  or  opium,  introduced  into  its  tissues.  It  depends,  like 
other  portions  of  the  nervous  system,  on  an  adequate  supply  of 
nourishment.  In  both  respects  the  brain  of  the  Ayrshire  poet 
was  injuriously  affected,  in  so  far  as  we  may  infer  from  all  the 
known  circumstances  of  his  life. 

The  human  brain  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  body  in 
infancy  and  youth  ;  and  the  opinions  of  leading  anatomists  and 
physiologists  early  in  the  present  century  favoured  the  idea 
that  it  attained  its  full  size  within  a  few  years  after  birth. 
Professor  Soemmering  assumed  this  to  take  place  so  early  as 
the  third  year.  Sir  William  Hamilton  explicitly  stated  his 
conclusion  thus :  "  In  man  the  encephalon  reaches  its  full 
size  about  seven  years  of  age  ; "  and  Tiedemann  assigns  the 
eighth  year  as  that  in  which  it  attains  its  greatest  development. 
But  the  more  accurate  and  extended  observations  since  carried 
on  rather  tend  to  the  conclusion  that  the  brain  not  only  goes 
on  increasing  in  size  and  weight  to  a  much  later  period  of  life ; 
but  that  it  is  healthfully  stimulated  by  habitual  activity,  and 
under  exceptionally  favouring  circumstances  it  may  increase  in 
weight  long  after  the  body  has  attained  its  maximum. 

The  largest  average  brain-weights,  as  determined  by  obser- 
vations on  the  brains  of  upwards  of  2000  men  and  women  in 
different  countries  of  Europe,  have  indeed  been  found  in  those  not 
above  twenty  years  of  age  ;  and  from  a  nearly  equal  number  of 
English  examples,  Dr.  Boyd  determines  the  period  of  greatest 
average  weight  to  be  the  interval  between  fourteen  and  twenty 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      381 

years  of  age  ;  but  this  includes  caees  in  which  death  has  ensued 
from  undue  or  premature  brain  de^'elopment. 

Other  evidence  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  cases  are 
not  rare  of  the  growth,  or  increased  density  of  the  brain  up  to 
middle  age  ;  while  the  observations  of  Professor  Welcker  indi- 
cate this  process  extended  to  a  later  period  of  life.  The  aver- 
age brain-weights,  as  given  by  Boyd,  Peacock,  and  Broca,  from 
healthy  or  sane  cases,  along  with  those  of  Welcker,  include  the 
weights  of  47  male  brains  from  ten  to  twenty  years  of  age, 
giving  an  average  of  49*6  oz.,  or  1405  grms. ;  and  of  112 
male  brains  from  twenty  to  thirty  years  of  age,  giving  an  aver- 
age of  48*9  oz.,  or  1384  grms. ;  and  the  results  of  a  nearly 
equal  number  of  female  brains  closely  approximate.  They 
embrace  English,  Scotch,  German,  and  French,  men  and  women. 
Dr.  Welcker's  results  indicate  the  period  of  maximum  brain- 
weight  to  be  between  30-40,  as  shown  in  the  following  table : — 


TABLE  VI 


AVERAGE   WEIGHT    OF    THE    BRAIN    AT    DIFFERENT    AGES 


AaE. 

Male. 

Female. 

Oz.  Av. 

Grms. 

Oz.  Av. 

Grms. 

From  10-20 
20-30 
30-40 
40-50 
50-60 
60-70 

47-5 
49-5 
49-5 
48-6 
48-1 
46-1 

! 
1346 
1404 
1404 
1379 
1365 
1306 

431 
44-1 
44-8 
435 
43-5 
42-8 

1221 
1251 
1272 
1234 
1234 
1213 

In  the  female  examples,  amounting  to  thirty-one  between 
seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age,  and  six  between  eighty  and 
ninety,  the  continuous  diminution  of  brain-weight  corresponds 
with  the  increasing  age ;  but  in  the  male  examples,  sixty-five 
cases  between  sixty  and  seventy  years  of  age  yield  an  average 
brain- weight  of  46'1  oz.,  while  twenty-seven  cases  between 
seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age  give  47"9  as  the  average; 
falling  in  the  next  decade  to  43*8. 


382      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

It  may  be  inferred  from  the  number  of  cases  pointing  to  an 
early  attainment  of  the  highest  average  brain-weight,  not  that 
the  brain  differs  from  all  other  internal  organs  of  the  htnnan 
body  in  attaining  its  maximum  before  the  period  of  puberty ; 
but  that  physical  as  well  as  mental  vigour  are  dependent  on 
the  maintenance  of  a  nice  equilibrium  between  the  brain  and 
the  other  organs  while  in  process  of  development.  The  obser- 
vations of  Dr.  Boyd,  including  the  results  of  2614  post-mortem 
examinations  of  sane  and  insane  patients  of  all  ages,  showed 
that  the  average  weight  of  the  brain  of  "  still-born  "  children 
at  the  full  period  was  much  greater  than  that  of  the  new-born 
living  child.  It  is  a  legitimate  inference,  therefore,  that  death 
in  the  former  cases  was  traceable  to  an  excessive  premature 
development  of  the  brain.  Again,  when  it  is  shown  from 
numerous  cases  that  the  highest  average  weights  of  brain  in 
both  sexes  occur  not  later  than  twenty  years  of  age,  it  appears 
a  more  legitimate  inference  to  trace  to  exceptional  cerebral 
development  towards  the  period  of  adolescence,  the  mortality 
which  rendered  available  so  many  examples  of  unusually  large 
or  heavy  brains,  than  to  assume  that  the  normal  healthy  brain 
begins  to  diminish  at  that  age. 

It  is  a  fact  familiar  to  popular  observation  that  a  large 
head  in  youth  is  apt  to  be  unfavourable  to  life.  A  tendency 
to  epilepsy  appears  to  be  the  frequent  concomitant  of  an 
unusually  large  brain  ;  and  with  the  congestion  accompanying 
its  abnormal  condition,  this  may  account  for  the  weights  of 
such  diseased  brains  as  have  been  repeatedly  found  in  excess 
of  nearly  all  the  recorded  examples  of  megalocephaly  in  the 
cases  of  distinguished  men.  But  a  greater  interest  attaches  to 
a  remarkable  example  of  healthy  megalocephaly  recorded  in 
the  British  Medical  Journal  for  1872.  The  case  was  that  of 
a  boy  thirteen  years  of  age,  who  died  in  Middlesex  Hospital 
from  injuries  caused  by  a  fall  from  an  omnibus.  His  brain 
was  found  to  weigh  58  oz.  He  had  been  a  particularly 
healthy  lad,  without  any  evidence  of  rachitis,  and  very  intelli- 
gent. This  is  a  strikingly  exceptional  case  of  a  healthy  brain, 
at  the  age  of  thirteen,  exceeding  in  weight  all  but  two  of  the 
greatest  ascertained  brain-weights  of  distinguished  mej. 

From  the  evidence  already  adduced  of  relative  cubical 
capacity  of  the  skulls  of  different  races,  it  appears,  as  was  to 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      383 


be  expected,  that  there  is  a  greater  prevalence  of  the  amply- 
developed  brain  among  the  higher  and  more  civilised  races. 
But  all  averages  are  apt  to  be  deceptive ;  and  the  progressive 
scale  from  the  smallest  up  to  the  greatest  mass  of  brain  is  by 
no  means  in  the  precise  ratio  of  an  intellectual  scale  of  pro- 
gression. The  results  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis's  investigations,  based 
on  the  study  of  a  large,  and  in  manj'  cases  a  seemingly 
adequate  number  of  skulls,  bring  out  tliis  remarkable  fact,  that, 
so  far  from  the  Polynesians  occupying  a  rank  in  the  lowest 
scale,  as  affirmed  by  Professor  Vogt,  the  Oceanic  races  of  the 
Pacific  generally  rank  in  internal  capacity  of  skull,  and  conse- 
quent size  of  brain,  next  to  the  European. 

But  it  'g  of  more  importance  for  our  presenc  inquiry  to 
note  that,  as  exceptionally  large  and  heavy  brains  occur  among 
the  most  civilised  races,  in  some  cases — and  in  some  only — 
accompanied  with  corresponding  manifestations  of  unusual 
intellectual  power;  so  also  it  becomes  apparent  that  skulls 
much  exceeding  the  average,  and  some  of  remarkable  internal 
capacity,  are  met  with  among  barbarian  races,  and  even  among 
some  of  the  lowest  savages.  Taking  the  crania  in  the  elabor- 
ate series  of  tables  in  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis's  Thesaurus  Craniorum, 
with  an  internal  capacity  above  100  cubic  inches,  they  will 
rank  in  order  as  follows : — 


I'  ' 

It:. 


;ii!sii 


Chinese 

111-8 

Maduran 

110-6 

Marquesan 

110-6 

Kanaka 

108-8 

Javan 

107- 

Negro 

105-8 

Australian 

104-6 

Kafir 

104-5 

Bal^ele 

103-3 

Tidoisse 

103-3 

Bhotia 

102-7 

Bodo 

100-9 

Hindoo 

100-9 

Siimatran 

100-9 

Among  the  European  series  the  largest  is  an  Irish  cranium 
of  121'6  cubic  inches,  and  next  to  it  comes  an  Italian,  114-3, 
and  an  Englishman,  112-4;  an  ancient  Briton  from  a  York- 
shire Long   Barrow,   109-4;    an  ancient  Eoman,   106*4;    a 


^1 


384      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


Lapp,  105*8;  an  ancient  Gaul,  103'7  ;  a  Briton  of  Roman 
times,  103-3  ;  a  Merovingian  Frank,  101*5  ;  and  an  Anglo- 
Saxon,  100"9.  Those  and  other  examples  of  the  like  kind  are 
full  of  interest  as  showing  the  recurrence  of  megalocephalic 
variations  from  the  common  cranial  and  cerebral  standard 
among  ancient  races ;  and  among  rudest  savages  as  well  as 
among  the  most  cultivated  classes  of  modern  civilised  nations. 
But  the  order  shown  in  the  above  instances  is  derived  from 
purely  exceptional  examples,  and  is  no  key  to  the  relative 
capacity  of  the  races  named. 

Opportunities  for  testing  the  size  and  weight  of  the  brain 
among  barbarous  races  are  only  rarely  accessible  to  those  who 
are  qualified  to  avail  themselves  of  them  for  th<j  purposes  of 
science.  Some  near  approximation  to  the  relative  brain- 
weight  of  the  English,  Scotch,  German,  and  French,  may  now 
be  assumed  to  have  been  established.  Dr.  Thurnam  instituted 
a  comparison  between  those  and  two  of  the  prehistoric  races  of 
Britain — the  Dolichocephali  of  the  Long  Barrows,  and  the 
Brachycephali  of  the  Round  Barrows  of  England.^  The  results 
are  curious,  as  showing  not  only  a  greater  capacity  in  the 
ancient  British  skulls  than  the  average  modern  German, 
French,  or  English  head;  but  an  actual  average  higher  than 
that  of  all  but  five  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  Europe, 
whose  brain-weights  have  been  recorded.  On  comparing  the 
ancient  skulls  with  those  of  modern  Europeans,  as  determined 
by  gauging  the  capacity  of  both  by  the  same  process,  the 
following  are  the  results  presented,  according  to  the  authorities 
named : — 


TABLE  VII 


Skulls  of  Men. 

No. 
18 

Weight 
of  Sand. 

Cubic 
In. 

Capacity. 
Centi- 
metres. 

Brain- 
weight 
oz.  av. 

Ancient  Britons,  L.  Barrows 

82 

99 

1622 

54- 

„             „      K.  Barrows 

18 

80J 

98 

1605 

53-5 

Modern  English,  Morton 
„       French,  Broca 

28 
357 

77 
74 

94 
91 

1540 
1502 

52-2 
50-ti 

„       German,  Welcker 

30 

72 

88 

1450 

49- 

^  Mem.  Anthropol.  Soc.  London,  vol.  i.  p.  465. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      385 


The  highest  average  of  any  nationality,  as  determined  by 
Drs.  Eeid  and  Peacock  from  the  weighing  of  157  brains  of 
male  patients,  chiefly  Scottish  Lowlanders,  in  the  Eoyal  Infir- 
mary of  Edinburgh,  is  little  more  than  50  oz.,  or  1417 
grammes  ;  whereas  the  estimated  average  brain-weight  in  the 
ancient  British  skulls  is  54  oz.  for  the  Dolichocephali  of  the 
Long  Barrows,  which  equals  that  of  Sir  James  Simpson,  and 
exceeds  all  but  six  of  the  most  distinguished  men  adduced  in 
Table  IV.  For  the  Brachycephali  of  the  Round  Barrows  it  is 
5  3  "5  oz.,  which  is  in  excess  of  the  brain-weights  of  Agassiz, 
Chalmers,  Whewell,  and  other  distinguished  men,  and  exactly 
accords  with  that  of  Daniel  Webster  and  Lord  Chancellor 
Campbell.  In  so  far,  moreover,  as  this  illustrates  the  cerebral 
capacity  of  ancient  races,  it  is  in  each  case  an  average  yobtained 
by  gauging  eighteen  skulls,  and  not  the  cranial  capacit}'  of  one 
or  two  exceptionally  large  ones.  Dr.  Thurnam  does  indeed 
suggest  that  the  Barrows  may  have  been  the  sepulchres  of 
chiefs ;  nor  is  this  unlikely ;  but  the  superior  vigour  and 
mental  endowment  which  this  implies  fails  to  account  for  a 
cerebral  capacity  surpassing  all  but  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  science  and  letters  in  modern  Europe  referred  to  in  the 
above  table.  Rather  may  we  conclude  from  this,  as  from 
other  evidence,  that  quality  of  brain  may,  within  certain  limits, 
be  of  more  significance  than  mere  quantity ;  and  that  brains 
of  the  same  volume,  and  agreeing  in  weight,  may  greatly 
differ  in  minute  structure  and  in  powers  of  cerebration. 

In  the  case  of  the  ancient  British  Barrow-Builders  we  seem 
to  have  large  heads  and  remarkable  development  of  brain, 
without  any  indications  of  an  equivalent  in  intellectual  power ; 
and  although  the  estimated  brain -weight  derived  from  gauging 
the  capacity  of  the  empty  chamber  of  the  skull  proceeds  on 
the  assumption  of  mass  and  weight  agreeing,  sufficient  data 
exist  to  justify  the  adoption  of  this  for  approximate  results. 
The  average  weight  of  brain  of  twelve  male  Negroes  of  unde- 
termined tribes,  deduced  from  gauging  their  skulls,  has  been 
ascertained  to  amount  to  1255  grammes,  or  44"3  oz.  The 
actual  weight  of  brain  of  the  Negro  of  Guinea,  described  by 
Professor  Calori,  was  1260  grammes  ;  and  other  examples  vary 
considerably  from  the  average.  Mascagni  gives  1458  grammes 
as  the  weight  of  one  Negro  brain  weighed  by  him ;  equivalent 

2c 


386      RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

to  an  actual  brain-weight  of  5 1*5  oz.,  which  is  greater  than 
that  of  Dupuytren,  Whewell,  Hermann,  Tiedeniann,  or  Grote. 
Nevertheless,  although  the  extremes  are  great,  and  are  con- 
firmed by  a  like  diversity  in  measurements  of  the  horizontal 
circumferen  je  and  of  internal  capacity,  the  average  result  given 
above  appears  to  be  a  fair  and  reliable  one. 

Thus  far  the  inquiry  into  data  illustrative  of  comparative 
size  and  weight  of  brain  has  dealt  chiefly  with  the  races  of 
the  eastern  hemisphere.  The  compass  is  great  in  point  of 
time  in  so  far  as  it  embraces  savage  and  civilised  peoples, 
including  the  barbarians  of  Europe's  Palaeolithic  era,  along  with 
modern  tribes  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Australia,  and  some  of  the 
most  notable  among  the  prehistoric  races  of  the  British  Isles. 
The  compass  is  equally  great  in  the  range  of  intellectual 
development,  when  to  those  are  added  data  illustrative  of  the 
average  brain-weight  of  some  of  the  leading  nations  of  modern 
Europe,  and  a  series  of  examples  derived  from  noted  instances 
of  the  highest  exceptional  types  of  intellectual  power  and 
activity  in  recent  times.  Some  general  conclusions  of  a  com- 
prehensive kind  seem  to  follow  legitimately  from  this  evidence. 
Notwithstanding  the  prominence  given  to  the  assumed  evidence 
of  a  low  tj^e  of  skull,  depressed  forehead,  and  poor  frontal 
development,  in  the  assumed  primitive  European  Canstadt 
race,  when  we  keep  in  view  the  enormous  interval  of  time 
assumed  to  separate  "  those  savages  who  peopled  Europe  in  the 
Palaeolithic  age  "  from  our  own  era,  the  amount  of  difference 
in  size  and  apparent  brain-weight  is  not  remarkable.  Com- 
pared with  those  of  contemporary  savage  races  it  suggests  no 
more  than  the  accompanying  development  of  the  brain  in  a 
ratio  with  the  intellectual  activities  of  progressive  civilisation, 
and  even  then  the  relative  brain-mass  of  the  lowest  type  is 
suggestive  of  latent  powers  only  needing  development.  But 
the  old  and  later  races  of  the  New  World  stand  in  a  different 
relation  to  each  other ;  and  the  process  thus  far  employed 
when  applied  to  determine  the  comparative  cranial  capacities 
of  the  native  American  races,  discloses  results  of  a  different 
character,  and  widely  at  variance  with  those  above  described 
relating  to  the  ancient  races  of  Britain.  On  the  continent  of 
America  the  native  ethnical  scale  embraces  a  comparatively 
narrow   range,  and   any  intrusive    elements   are   sufficiently 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      387 


recent  to  be  easily  eliminated.  The  Patagonian  and  the 
Fuegian  rank  alongside  of  the  Bushman,  the  Andaman  Islander, 
or  the  Australian,  as  among  the  lowest  types  of  humanity ; 
while  the  Aztecs,  Mayas,  Quichuas,  and  Aymaras,  attained  to 
the  highest  scale  which  has  been  reached  independently  by 
any  native  American  race.  We  owe  to  the  zealous  and  inde- 
i'atigable  labours  of  Dr.  Morton,  alike  in  the  formation  of  his 
great  collection  of  human  crania,  and  in  the  published  results 
embodied  in  the  Crania  Americana,  a  large  amount  of 
knowledge  derived  from  „his  class  of  evidence  in  reference  to 
the  races  of  the  New  World.  In  one  respect,  at  least,  those 
results  stand  out  in  striking  contrast  to  the  large -headed 
barbarian  Barrow  -  Builders  of  ancient  Britain.  Dr.  Morton 
subdivides  the  American  races  into  the  Toltecan  race,  embrac- 
ing the  semi-civilised  communities  of  Mexico,  Bogota,  and 
Peru,  and  the  barbarous  tribes  scattered  over  the  continent 
from  the  Arctic  circle  to  Tierra  del  Fuego.  His  latest  views 
are  embodied  in  a  contribution  to  Schoolcraft's  History  of 
the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States,  entitled  "  The  I*hysical 
Type  of  the  American  Indians."  In  treating  of  the  volume  of 
brain,  he  draws  special  attention  to  the  Peruvian  skulls,  201 
in  number,  obtained  for  him  from  the  cemeteries  of  Pisco, 
Pachacamac,  and  Arica.  "  Herera  informs  us  that  Pachacamac 
was  sacred  to  priests,  nobles,  and  other  persons  of  distinction ; 
and  there  is  ample  evidence  that  Arica  and  Pisco,  though  free 
to  all  classes,  were  among  the  most  favoured  cemeteries  of 
Peru."  Dr.  Morton  accordingly  adds :  "  It  is  of  some  impor- 
tance to  the  present  inquiry,  that  nearly  one-half  of  this  series 
of  Peruvian  crania  was  obtained  at  Pachacamac ;  whence  the 
inference  that  they  belonged  to  *ihe  most  intellectual  and  culti- 
vated portion  of  the  Peruvian  nation ;  for  in  Peru  learning  of 
every  kind  was  an  exclusive  privilege  of  the  ruling  caste."  In 
reality,  however,  later  additions  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
physical  characteristics  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  tend  to  con- 
firm the  idea  of  the  existence  of  two  distinct  races :  a  patrician 
order  occupying  a  position  analogous  to  the  Franks  of  Gaul  or 
the  Normans  of  England,  though  more  aptly  to  be  compared 
to  the  Brahmins  of  India ;  and  a  more  numerous  class,  con- 
stituting the  labouring  and  industrial  orders  of  the  community, 
abundantly  represented  in  the  Pacific  coast  tribes  of  Peru,  the 


m 


388      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

cemeteries  of  which  have  furnished  the  larger  number  of  crania 
to  European  and  American  collections. 

To  such  a  patrician  order  or  caste  the  intellectual  superior- 
ity and  privileges  of  the  governing  race  pertained.  But  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  exclusive  prerogatives  of  the  patrician 
and  sacerdotal  orders,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Peruvians  as 
a  people  had  carried  metallurgy  to  as  high  a  development  as 
has  been  attained  by  any  race  ignorant  of  working  in  iron. 
They  had  acquired  great  skill  in  the  arts  of  the  goldsmith,  the 
engraver,  chaser,  and  modeller.  Pottery  was  fashioned  into 
many  artistic  and  fanciful  forms,  showing  ingenuity  and  great 
versatility  of  fancy.  They  excelled  as  engineers,  architects, 
sculptors,  weavers,  and  agriculturists.  Their  public  works 
display  great  skill,  combined  with  comprehensive  aims  of 
practical  utility ;  and  alone,  among  all  the  nations  of  the  New 
World,  they  had  domesticated  animals,  and  trained  them  as 
beasts  of  burden.  It  is  not,  therefore,  without  reason  that 
Dr.  Morton  adds :  "  When  we  consider  tlie  institutions  of  the 
old  Peruvians,  their  comparatively  advanced  civilisation,  their 
tombs  and  temples,  mountain  roads  and  monolithic  gateways, 
together  with  their  knowledge  of  certain  ornamental  arts,  it  is 
surprising  to  find  that  they  possessed  a  brain  no  larger  than 
the  Hottentot  and  New  Hollander,  and  far  below  that  of  the 
barbarous  hordes  of  their  own  race.  For,  on  measuring  155 
crania,  nearly  all  derived  from  the  sepulchres  just  mentioned, 
they  give  but  75  cubic  inches  (equivalent,  after  due  deduction 
for  membranes  and  fluids,  to  a  brain  of  40'1  oz.  av.  in  weight,) 
for  the  average  bulk  of  the  brain.  Of  the  whole  number,  only 
one  attains  the  capacity  of  1 0 1  cubic  inches,  and  the  minimum 
sinks  to  58,  the  smallest  in  the  whole  series  of  641  measured 
crania.  It  is  important  further  to  remark  that  the  sexes  are 
nearly  equally  represented,  namely,  eighty  men  and  seventy-five 
women." 

Other  collections  subsequently  formed  have  largely  added 
to  our  means  of  testing  the  curious  question  thus  raised  of  the 
apparent  inverse  ratio  of  volume  of  brain  to  intellectual  power 
and  progressive  civilisation  among  the  native  races  of  the 
American  continent.  In  1866,  Mr.  E.  G.  Squier  presented  to 
the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Archaeology  and  Ethnology 
at   Harvard,  a    collection    of    seventy -five    Peruvian   skulls, 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      389 

obtained  by  himself  from  various  localities  both  on  the  coast 
nnd  in  the  interior.  "  The  skulls  from  the  interior  represent 
the  Aymara  on  Lake  Titicaca,  as  well  as  the  Quichua,  Cuzco, 
or  Inca  families ;  and  the  skulls  of  every  coast  family  from 
Tumbes  to  Atacama,  or  from  Ecuador  to  Chili."  *  Sul)se- 
quently  the  curator,  the  late  Professor  Jetfreys  Wyman,  made 
this  collection,  along  vi^ith  two  others,  of  skulls  from  the 
mounds  of  Kentucky  and  Florida,  the  subject  of  careful  com- 
parative measurements.  The  following  are  the  results :  The 
crania  from  Florida  were  chiefly  obtained  from  a  burial  place 
near  an  ancient  Indian  shell  mound  of  gigantic  proportions,  a 
few  miles  distant  from  Cedar  Keys.  They  are  eighteen  in 
number,  and  have  a  mean  capacity  of  1375'7  cubic  centi- 
metres, or  nearly  84  cubic  inches.  The  skulls  from  the 
Kentucky  mounds,  twenty  -  four  in  number,  show  a  mean 
capacity  of  1313  cubic  centimetres,  80"21  cubic  inches,  with 
a  difference  of  125  cubic  centimetres,  or  7 '61  cubic  inches  in 
favour  of  the  males.  Yet,  small  as  the  Kentucky  skulls  are, 
they  exceed  the  Peruvian  ones.  Keeping  in  view  the  varied 
sources  of  the  latter.  Professor  Wyman  remarks :  "  Although 
the  crania  from  the  several  localities  show  some  differences  as 
regards  capacity,  yet  in  most  other  respects  they  are  alike." 
And  the  numbers,  when  viewed  separately,  are  too  few  to 
attach  much  importance  to  variations  within  so  narrow  a 
range.  Nevertheless  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  highest  mean 
is  that  of  the  Aymaras  of  Lake  Titicaca ;  and  this  difference  is 
considerably  increased  by  measurements  derived  from  subse- 
quent additions  to  the  Harvard  collection,  received  since  the 
death  of  Professor  Wyman  from  the  high  valley  of  Lake 
Titicaca.  In  other  respects  besides  their  marked  superiority 
in  size,  the  latter  crania  differ  from  those  of  the  Coast  tribes, 
and  confirm  the  earlier  deduction  of  an  ethnical  distinction 
between  the  more  numerous  race  so  abundantly  represented  in 
the  Coast  cemeteries,  and  that  which  is  chiefly  represented  by 
crania  brought  from  the  interior.  The  numbers  from  the 
several  localities  selected  by  Professor  Wyman  as  fair  average 
specimens  of  the  whole  stand  thus :  six  from  burial  towers,  or 
chulpas,  near  Lake  Titicaca,  1292  ;  five  from  Cajamaquilla, 
1268'75;  fourteen  from  Casma,  1254;  four  from  Truxillc, 
^  Pedbody  Miiaeum  Annual  Report,  1868,  p.  7. 


^K. 


'"'It 


in 


ill 


390      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

1236;  four  from  rachicanmc,  1195;  sixteen  from  Amacavilca, 
11762  ;  ami  seven  from  Grand  Cliimu,  109428. 

In  1872,  tlie  collection  of  Peruvian  crania  in  the  Peabody 
Museum  was  auj^mented  by  a  lar<je  addition  from  M30  skulls 
obtained  by  Professor  Agassiz,  through  the  intervention  of  Mr. 
T.  J.  Hutchinson,  IJritish  Consul  at  Callao,  in  I'eru.  From 
those  contributed  to  the  Harvard  Museum,  Dr.  Wyman  selected 
eleven  as  apparently  the  only  ones  unaffected  by  any  artificial 
compression  or  distortion,  and  therefore  valuable  as  illustration? 
of  the  normai  shape  of  the  Per:i.vian  head.  They  are  quite 
symmetrical.  The  occiput,  instead  of  being  flattened  or 
vertical,  as  in  the  distorted  crania,  iras  the  ordinary  curves,  and 
in  some  of  them  is  prominent.  Two  of  them  are  marked  by  a 
low,  retreating  forehead ;  but  in  all  Hie  others  the  forehead  is 
moderately  developed.  As,  moreover,  the  larger  half  appear  to 
be  the  skulls  of  females,  this  accounts  for  the  mean  capacity 
falling  below  the  Peruvian  average.  But  they  are  all  small. 
The  largest  of  them  is  only  1260  cubic  centimetres,  or  less 
than  74  cubic  inches ;  and  the  average  capacity  of  ten  of  them 
is  1129  cubic  centimetres,  or  69  cubic  inches. 

The  collection,  as  a  whole,  differs  from  that  of  Mr.  Squier, 
in  having  been  derived  from  the  huacas,  or  ancient  graves  of 
one  locality,  that  of  Ancon,  near  Callao.  Professor  Wyman 
stated  as  the  result  of  his  careful  study  of  them  :  "  The  average 
capacity  obtained  from  the  whole  collection,  including  those 
having  the  distorted  as  well  as  the  natural  shape,  varies  but 
little  from  that  of  previous  measurements,"  including  those  of 
Morton  and  Meigs,  and  his  own  results  from  the  Squier 
collection. 

Another  collection  of  150  ancient  skulls,  obtained  by  Mr. 
Hutchinson  during  his  residence  in  Peru,  and  presented  to  the 
Anthropological  Institute  of  London,  has  the  additional  value, 
like  that  of  Squier,  of  having  been  carefully  selected  from 
different  localities,  including  Santos,  lea,  Ancon,  Passamayo,  and 
Oerro  del  Oro ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  those  enumerated 
in  the  Thesaurus  Craniorum  of  Dr.  Davis.  We  have  thus 
unusually  ample  materials  for  determining  the  cranial  char- 
acteristics of  this  remarkable  people,  and  the  results  in  every 
case  are  the  same.  After  a  careful  examination  of  the  Peruvian 
skulls,  in  the  London  anthropological  collection.  Professor  Busk 


RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      391 


states  his  conclusions  thus  :  "  The  mean  capacity  of  the  larger 
skulls,  wiiich  may  be  regarded  a^  males,  appears,  as  far  aa  T 
have  gone,  to  be  about  80  cubic  inches,  equivalent  to  a  brain 
of  about  45  ounces,  roughly  estimated.  This  capacity,  and  the 
measurements  above  cited,  show  that  tiie  crania  generally  are 
of  small  size ; "  and  he  adds :  "  this  is  in  accord  with  the 
statements  of  Uii  observers."  ^ 

Dr.  Davis  has  added  to  the  valuable  data  included  in  his 
Thesaurtia  Craniorum,  a  series  of  measurements  of  skeletons. 
Unfortunately  that  of  a  male  Quichua,  procured  by  him  in  the 
form  of  a  "  Peruvian  mummy,"  proved  to  be  affected  with 
carious  disease  about  the  last  dorsal  and  upper  lumbar  vertebrte ; 
and  consequently  the  length  of  the  vertebral  colunni  essential 
for  comparison  with  the  skeletons  of  other  races,  is  wanting; 
but  the  other  measurements  indicate  in  this  exanqde  a  stature 
below  the  average,  while  the  skull  exceeds  it.  The  average 
internal  capacity  of  eighteen  Quichua  male  skulls,  as  given  by 
Dr.  Davis,  is  seventy-three,  whereas  this  is  78'5.  That  the 
ancient  Peruvian  skulls  are,  with  rare  exceptions,  of  small  size, 
is  undoubted ;  and  in  view  of  this  it  becomes  a  matter  of  some 
importance  to  determine  whether  this  was  in  any  degree  due 
to  a  correspondingly  small  stature.  Obscure  references  are  found 
in  the  legendary  history  of  Peru  to  a  pigmy  race.  Pedro  de 
Cieza  de  Leon,  whose  travels  have  been  translated  by  Mr. 
Markham,  refers  to  the  first  emigration  of  the  Indians  of 
Chincha  to  that  valley,  "  where  they  found  many  inhabitants, 
but  all  of  such  small  stature,  that  the  tallest  was  barely  two 
cubits  high"  (p.  260).  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  repeats  another 
tradition  heard  by  himself  in  Peru,  of  a  race  of  giants  who 
came  by  sea  to  the  country,  and  were  so  tall  that  the  natives 
reached  no  higher  than  their  knees.  They  lived  by  rapine,  and 
wasted  the  whole  country  till  they  were  destroyed  by  fire  from 
heaven.  Traditions  of  this  class  may  possibly  point  to  the 
existence  of  an  aboriginal  rpce  of  small  stature.  The  aborigines 
of  Guatemala,  Salvador,  and  Nicaragua,  are  described  as  below 
the  middle  size  (Bancroft,  vol.  i.  p.  688);  and  Von  Tchudi 
divides  the  wild  Indians  of  Peru  into  the  Iscuchanos,  the 
natives  of  the  highlands,  a  tall,  slim,  vigorous  race,  with  the 
head  proportionally  large  and  the  forehead  low ;  and  th  -'Se  of 
^  Journal  of  Anthropol.  Ivat.,  vol.  iii.  p.  92. 


■■■A 


■I 


392      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

the  hot  lowlands,  a  smaller  race,  lank,  l)ut  broad  shouldered, 
with  a  broad  lace  and  small  round  chin.  There  appear, 
therefore,  to  be  traces  of  one  or  more  aboriginal  races  of  small 
stature.  But  Dr.  Morton  says  expressly  of  the  Peruvians  :  "  Our 
knowledge  of  their  physical  appearance  is  derived  solely  from 
their  tombs.  In  stature  they  appear  not  to  have  been  in  any 
respect  remarkable,  nor  to  have  differed  from  the  cognate 
nations  except  in  the  conformation  of  the  head,  which  is  small, 
greatly  elongated,  narrow  its  whole  length,  with  a  very  retreat- 
ing forehead,  and  possessing  more  symmetry  than  is  usual  in 
skulls  of  the  American  race."  Some  of  the  characteristics 
here  referred  to  are,  in  part  at  least,  the  result  of  artificial 
modifications ;  but  the  small  head  appears  to  be  an  indisput- 
able characteristic  of  the  most  nunierous  ancient  people  rf  Peru. 
It  may  not  unreasonably  excite  surprise  that  Dr.  Morton 
should  have  adduced  results  apparently  pointing  to  the  con- 
clusion that  civilisation  had  progressed  among  the  native  races 
of  the  American  continent  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  volume  of 
brain ;  and  yet  passed  it  over  with  such  slight  comment.  The 
only  luut  at  a  recognition  of  the  difficulty  is  where,  as  he  draws 
his  work  to  a  close,  he  indicates  his  observation  of  a  greater 
anterior  and  coronal  development  in  the  smaller  Peruvian  brain. 
"  It  is  curious,"  he  says,  "  to  observe  that  the  barbarous  nations 
possess  a  larger  brain  b^  5^  cubic  inches  than  the  Toltecans ; 
while,  on  the  otLer  hand,  the  Toltecans  possess  a  greater  rela- 
tive capacity  of  the  anterior  chamber  of  the  skull  in  the  pro- 
portion of  42*3  to  41*8.  Again,  the  coronal  region,  though 
absolutely  greater  in  the  barbarous  tribes,  is  rather  larger  in 
proportion  in  the  demi-civilised  tribes."  ^  But  Dr.  Morton 
also  noted  that  the  heads  of  nine  Peruvian  children  in  his 
possession  "  appear  to  be  nearly  if  not  quite  as  large  as  those 
of  children  of  other  nations  at  the  same  age " ;  ^  so  that  he 
seemed  to  recognise  something  equivalent  to  an  arrested 
cerebral  development  accompanying  the  intellectual  activity 
of  this  remarkable  people  at  some  later  stage,  yet  without 
apparently  affecting  their  mental  power.  But  it  was  jhar- 
acteristic  of  this  minute  and  painstaking  observer  to  accumulate 
and  set  forth  his  results,  unaffected  by  any  apparent  difficulties 
or  inconsistencies  which  they  might  seem  to  involve. 
^  Crania  Americana,  p.  260.  '  Ibid.  p.  132. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      393 


Important  advances  have  been  made  in  craniometry,  as  in 
other  branches  of  anthropology,  since  Dr.  Morton  formed  the 
collection  which  now,  vvith  many  later  additions,  constitutes  an 
important  department  in  the  collections  of  the  Academy  of 
Science  of  Philadelphia.  Zealous  and  well-trained  labourers 
are  following  in  his  steps  ;  but  the  value  of  his  services  to  science 
are  more  fully  appreciated  with  every  addition  to  the  work  he 
inaugurated.  Eesearches  have  been  prosecuted  for  some  yerrs 
by  a  committee  of  the  British  Association  with  a  view  to 
securing  reliable  data  relative  to  the  tribes  of  the  Canadian 
North  -  West  and  British  Columbia.  In  following  out  their 
instructions.  Dr.  Franz  Boas  has  prepared  valuable  tables  of 
measurements,  both  of  living  examples  of  the  Haidah,  Tsimshian, 
Kwakintl,  and  Nootka  tribes,  and  of  crania  of  those  and 
other  natives  of  the  Pacific  coast ;  but  unfortunately  he  has 
omitted  the  cerebral  capacity.  But  a  large  collection  of  crania 
of  tribes  lying  to  the  south  of  British  Columbia,  now  in  the 
Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard  University,  has  furnished  to  Mr. 
Lucien  Carr  opportunities  for  a  series  of  careful  measurements 
showing  some  very  distinctive  diversities  among  tribes  of  the 
coast  and  the  islands  of  Southern  California.  From  those  the 
following  table  is  derived.  The  capacity  is  given  in  cubic 
centimetres ;  and  shows  not  only  a  marked  diversity  in  cerebral 
capacity  distinguishing  different  island  tribes,  but  also  notes 
the  relative  difference  of  the  male  and  female  head.  Among 
the  Indians  of  the  Pacific  coast  are  the  Haidahs  and  others 
noted  for  exceptional  ingenuity  and  skill  in  their  carvings, 
pottery,  and  other  handiwork.  But  besides  the  fair-skinned 
Haidahs  and  Tsimshians  of  the  north,  there  are  essentially 
diverse  tribes  of  Southern  California,  noticeable  for  swarthy 
and  almost  black  colour ;  and  not  only  inferior,  but  essentially 
differing  in  the  style  of  their  arts. 


i><|.S 


v:t 


394      RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  A  ND  SIZE 


TABLE  VIII 


CRANIA   OF   PACIFIC    COAST   TRIBES 


Santa  Catalina  Island,  California. 


No.  of  Crania. 

Sex. 

Capacity 
Average. 

Capacity 
Maximum. 

Capacity 
Minimum. 

26 
12 

Male 
Female 

1470 
1279 

1719 
1451 

Ii82 
1098 

San  ClemenU  Island,  California. 


No.  of  Crania. 

Sex. 

Capacity 
Average. 

Capacity 
Maximum. 

Capacity 
Minimum. 

9 
6 

Male 
Female 

1452 
1315 

1747 
1352 

1300 
1268 

Santa  Cruz  Island,  California. 


No.  of  Crania. 

Sex. 

Capacity 
Average. 

Capacity 
Maximum. 

Capacity 
Minimum. 

45 
35 

Male 
Female 

1366 
1219 

1625 
1528 

1144 
1040 

Santa  Barbara  Islands  and  Mainland. 


No.  of  Crania. 

Sex. 

Capacity 
Average. 

Capacity 
Maximum. 

Capacity 
Minimum. 

9 
5 

1167 
1176 

Male 
Female 

1324 
1247 

1441 
1316 

RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      395 


Among  exceptional  features  claimed  as  more  or  less  a  racial 
characteristic  of  American  crania,  the  os  Inccc,  or  epactal 
bone  in  the  occiput,  has  been  noted  as  present  in  various  stages 
of  manifestation  in  3"81  per  cent;  and  among  ancient 
Peruvian  crania  in  6  08  per  cent;  while  it  does  not  ap- 
parently exceed  2*65  per  cent  in  the  Negro;  and  only  reaches 
1"19  per  cent  in  Europeans.^  In  so  far  as  this  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  sign  of  arrested  development,  it  is  noteworthy  as 
thus  occurring  in  excess  in  the  small -headed,  yet  highly 
ingenious  and  civilised  Peruvian  race.  Dr.  Morton  noted  as 
a  remarkable  fact  that  the  skull  of  the  Peruvian  child 
appeared  to  equal  in  size  that  of  other  races  ;  so  that  in  a 
much  ampler  sense  than  in  the  perpetuation  of  a  suture  of  the 
occiput  beyond  the  stage  of  foetal  development,  the  small-sized 
skull  and  brain  of  the  adult  Peruvian  is  abnormal.  But  he 
followed  out  his  observation  of  the  phenomena  no  farther  than 
to  state,  in  summing  up  his  investigations  "  On  the  internal 
capacity  of  the  cranium  in  the  different  races  of  men : "  ^ 
"  Eespecting  the  American  race,  I  have  nothing  to  add,  except- 
ing the  striking  fact  that  of  all  the  American  nations,  the 
Peruvians  had  the  smallest  heads,  while  those  of  the  Mexicans 
were  something  larger,  and  those  of  the  barbarous  tribes  the 
largest  of  all,"  namely  : — 


Toltecan  Nations  |  F'f™^^^"^'  ««ll««tively 
(  Mexicans,  „ 

Barbarous  Tribes 


75  cubic  inches. 

79 

82 


» 


» 


The  enlarged  tables  given  in  the  catalogue  of  Dr  J.  Aitken 
Meigs,  increase  this  inverse  ratio  of  cerebral  capacity,  thus : — 


Peruvians     . 
Mexicans 
Barbarous  Tribes 


75-3 
81-7 
84-0 


"The  great  American  group,"  he  says,  "is,  in  several 
respects,  well  represented  in  the  collection.  It  includes  490 
crania  and  13  casts,  making  a  total  of  503  from  nearly  70 
different  nations  and  tribes.  Of  this  large  number  256 
belong  to  the  Toltecan  race  (embracing  the  semi-civilised 
communities  of  Mexico,  Bogota,  and  Peru),  and  247   to  the 

^  Crania  Americana,  p.  261. 


■;)■ 


ill 


396      RELA TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

barbarous  tribes  scattered  over  the  continent.  Of  164 
measurements  of  crania  of  the  barbarous  tribes,  the  largest  is 
104  cubic  inches;  the  smallest  69;  and  the  mean  of  all  84. 
One  hundred  and  fifty- two  Peruvian  skulls  give  101  cubic 
inches  for  the  largest  internal  capacity,  58  for  the  smallest, 
and  75*3  for  the  average  of  all."  ^ 

The  results  which  Professor  Jeffreys  Wyman  arrived  at 
from  a  careful  comparative  measurement  of  the  Squier  col- 
lection, were  confirmed  by  his  subsequent  study  of  that  of 
Professor  Agassiz,  and  may  be  quoted  as  applying  to  both ; 
for  he  sums  up  his  later  investigations  with  the  remark : 
"  These  results  agree  with  all  previous  conclusions  with  regard 
to  the  diminutive  size  of  the  ancient  Peruvian  brain." "  Of 
the  Squier  collection  he  says :  "  The  average  capacity  of  the 
fifty -six  crania  measured  agrees  very  closely  with  that  in- 
dicate'^  by  Morton  and  Meigs,  namely,  1230  centimetres,  or 
75  cubic  inches,  which  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  the 
barbarous  tribes  of  America,  and  almost  exactly  that  of  the 
Australians  and  Hottentots  as  given  by  Morton  and  Meigs, 
and  smaller  than  that  derived  from  a  larger  number  of 
measurements  by  Davis.  Thus  we  have,  in  this  particular, 
a  race  which  has  established  a  complex  civil  and  religious 
polity,  and  made  great  progress  in  the  useful  and  line  arts, — 
as  its  pottery,  textile  fabrics,  wrought  metals,  highways  and 
aqueducts,  colossal  architectural  structures  and  court  of  almost 
imperial  splendour  prove, — on  the  same  level,  as  regards  the 
quantity  of  brain,  with  a  race  whose  social  and  religious  con- 
ditions are  among  the  most  degraded  exhibited  by  the  human 
race.  All  this  goes  to  show,  and  cannot  be  too  much  insisted 
upon,  that  the  relative  capacity  of  the  skull  is  to  be  considered 
merely  as  an  anatomical  and  not  as  a  physiological  charac- 
teristic ;  and  unless  the  quality  of  the  brain  can  be  represented 
at  the  same  time  as  the  quantity,  brain  measurement  cannot 
be  assumed  as  an  indication  of  the  intellectual  position  of  races 
any  more  than  of  individuals."  ^ 

The  only  definite  attempt  of  Dr.  Morton  to  solve  the  diffi- 
culty thus  presented  to  us,  curiously  evades  its  true  point. 
"  Something,"  he  says,  "  may  be  attributed  to  a  primitive  differ- 

^  Introdttdory  Note,  Catalogue,  p.  10.        *  Peabody  Museum  Report,  1874,  p.  10. 

3   Rid.  1871,  p.  11. 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      397 

ence  of  stock ;  but  more,  perhaps,  to  the  contrasted  activity  of 
the  two  races."  Here,  however,  it  is  not  a  case  of  intellectual 
activity  accompanied  by,  and  seemingly  begetting  an  increased 
volume  of  brain ;  but  only  the  assumption  of  greater  activity 
in  the  small -brained  race  to  account  for  its  triumph  over 
larger-brained  barbarous  tribes  in  the  attainment  of  numerous 
elements  of  a  native-born  civilisation.  The  question  is,  how 
to  account  for  this  intellectual  activity,  with  all  its  marvellous 
resTilts,  attained  by  a  race  with  an  average  brain  of  no  greater 
volume  than  that  of  the  Bushman,  the  Australian,  or  other 
lowest  types  of  humanity. 

The  Nilotic  Egyptian  race,  of  composite  ethnical  character, 
presents  striking  elements  of  comparison,  in  the  ingenious  arts 
and  constructive  skill  of  the  ancient  dwellers  in  the  Nile 
valley ;  but  whether  we  take  the  Egyptian  of  the  Catacombs, 
the  Copt,  or  the  Fellah,  we  seek  in  vain  for  like  microcephalous 
characteristics.  Among  modern  races  the  Chinese  exhibit  many 
analogies  in  arts  and  so'^ial  life  to  the  ancient  Peruvians ;  but 
their  cerebral  capacity  presents  no  correspondence  to  that  of 
the  American  race.  Dr.  Morton  gives  a  mean  capacity  for  the 
Chinese  skull  of  85,  as  compared  with  the  Peruvian  7 5 '3, 
while  Dr.  Davis  derives  from  nineteen  skulls  a  mean  internal 
capacity  of  76*7  oz.  av.,  or  93  cubic  inches. 

But  another  Asiatic  race,  that  of  the  Hindoos — also 
associated  with  a  remarkable  ancient  civilisation,  and  a  social 
and  religious  organisation  not  without  suggestive  analogies  both 
to  ancient  Egypt  and  Peru, — is  noticeable  for  like  microcephal- 
ous characteristics.  In  completing  the  anatomical  measure- 
ments with  which  Dr.  Morton  closes  his  great  work,  he  places 
the  Ethiopian  lowest  in  the  scale  of  internal  capacity  of 
cranium ;  but,  while  including  the  Hindoo  in  his  Caucasian 
group,  he  adds :  "  It  is  proper  to  mention  that  but  three 
Hindoos  are  admitted  in  the  whole  number,  because  the  skulls 
of  these  people  ari3  probably  smaller  than  those  of  any  other 
existing  nation.  For  example,  seventeen  Hindoo  heads  give  a 
mean  of  but  75  cubic  inches."^  The  Vedahs  of  Ceylon,  the 
Mincopies,  the  Negritos,  and  the  Bushmen,  appear  to  vie  with 
the  Hindoos  in  smallness  of  skull;  but  all  of  them  are  race? 
of  diminutive  stature.  This  element,  therefore,  which  has 
^  Crania  Americana,  p.  261. 


U' 


398      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

been  referred  to  as  important  in  individual  comparisons,  is  no 
less  necessary  to  be  borne  in  view  in  determining  such  com- 
parative results  as  those  which  distinguish  the  Peruvians  from 
other  American  races.  Certain  races  are  unquestionably  dis- 
tinguished from  others  by  difference  of  stature.  Barrow 
determined  the  mean  lieight  of  the  Bushman,  from  measure- 
ments of  a  whole  tribe,  to  be  4  ft.  3^  in.  D'Orbigny,  from 
nearly  similar  evidence,  states  that  of  the  Patagonians  to  be 
5  ft.  8  in.  The  internal  capacity  of  the  Peruvian  skull,  as 
derived  from  eighteen  male  and  six  female  Quichua  skulls  in 
Dr.  Davis's  collection,  is  70,  while  he  states  that  of  the  Pata- 
gonian  skull  as  67  and  of  the  Bushman  as  65  ;  but  it  is 
manifest  that  the  latter  figures,  if  taken  without  reference  to 
relative  stature,  furnish  a  very  partial  index  of  the  comparative 
volume  of  brain. 

Professor  Goodsir,  as  already  noted,  held  that  symmetry  of 
brain  has  more  to  do  with  the  higher  faculties  than  mere  bulk. 
In  the  case  of  the  Peruvians  the  systematic  distortion  of  the 
skull  precludes  the  application  of  this  test.  But  in  the  small 
Hindoo  skull  the  ^ne  proportions  have  been  repeatedly  noted. 
Dr.  Davis,  in  describing  one  of  a  Hindoo  of  unmixed  blood, 
born  in  Sumatra,  says :  "  His  pretty,  diminutive  skull  is  singu- 
larly contrasted  with  thoL.^  of  the  races  by  whom,  alive,  he 
was  surrounded ; "  ^  and  he  adds :  "  The  great  agreement  of 
the  elegant  skulls  of  Hindoos  in  their  types  and  proporticTis, 
although  not  in  dimensions,  with  those  of  European  races,  has 
afforded  some  support  to  that  widespread  and  learned  illusion, 
'the  Indo-European  hypothesis.'  The  Hindoo  skulls  are 
generally  beautiful  models  of  form  in  miniature." 

Mr.  Alfred  R  Wallace,  in  his  Malay  Archipelago,  discusses 
the  value  of  cranial  measurements  for  ethnological  purposes ; 
and,  employing  those  furnished  by  Dr.  J.  B.  Davis  in  his 
Thesaurus  Cranioi'itm  as  a  "  means  of  determining  whether  the 
forms  and  dimensions  of  the  crania  of  the  eastern  races  would 
in  any  way  support  or  refute  his  classification  of  them,"  he 
finally  selected  as  the  best  tests  for  his  purpose — 1.  The 
capacity  of  the  cranium ;  2.  The  proportion  of  the  width  to 
the  length  taken  as  100;  3.  The  proportion  of  the  height  to 
the  length  taken  as  100.     But  here  again,  unfortunately,  the 

^  Thesaurus  Craniorum,  p.  148. 


RELA  TIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-  WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      399 

systematic  distortion  of  the  Peruvian  skull  limits  us  to  the 
first  of  those  tests.  There  are,  indeed,  the  eleven  normal 
Peruvian  crania  selected  as  such  from  the  numerous  Ancon 
skulls  brought  by  Professor  Agassiz  from  Peru.  But  those 
are  stated  by  Professor  Wymau  to  be  on  an  average  less  by 
six  inches  than  the  ordinary  skull.  Some  partial  results  era- 
bodied  in  the  following  table  admit  of  comparison  with  those 
based  on  the  more  ample  data  of  Table  X.  Dr.  Lucae,  in  his 
Zur  Organischen  Formenlehre,  gives  the  cranial  capacity  of 
single  skulls  of  different  races,  selected  as  examples  of  each. 
In  these,  as  in  others  already  referred  to,  the  capacity  was 
determined  with  peas ;  and  the  results — assumed  to  be  given 
in  Prussian  ounces, — are  dealt  with  here,  as  in  the  skulls  of 
Heinse  and  Blinger.  The  experiments  carried  on  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  the  process  fully  confirmed  the  results  stated 
by  Professor  Wyman  as  to  the  differences  in  apparent  cubical 
capacity  according  to  the  material  employed.  Taking  a  sound 
Huron  Indian  skull,  a  mean  internal  capacity  of  1490  grms. 
was  obtained  by  repeatedly  gauging  it  with  peas,  and  of 
143  9 "5  with  rice.  The  position  of  the  Negro,  heading  the 
list,  serves  to  show  the  exceptional  nature  of  the  evidence ; 
though  this  is  rather  due  to  the  inferiority  of  other  examples, 
such  as  the  Chinese  and  Greenlander,  than  to  its  capacity 
greatly  exceeding  the  Negro  mean.  In  the  first  column  the 
unzen,  as  Prussian  ounces,  are  rendered  in  grammes.  The 
second  column  gives  the  nearer  approximation  to  the  true 
specific  gravity,  according  to  the  standard  referred  to,  based 
on  a  series  of  experiments  carried  out  under  my  direction  in 
the  laboratory  of  the  University  of  Toronto,  and  assuming 
82"5  grms.  of  peas  to  occupy  the  space  of  100  grms.  of  water. 
The  third  and  fourth  columns  represent  the  estimated  brain- 
weight,  after  the  requisite  deductions,  on  the  basis  of  s.g.  of 
brain  as  1-0408. 


'-   * 

:  'S 


400      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 


TABLE  IX 


COMPARATIVE  CAPACITY  OF  RACES  :    LUCAE 


Internal 

Internal  Cap. 

Brain- 

Capacity. 
Grms. 

Corrected. 
Grms. 

Brain-weight. 
Grms. 

weight. 
Oz.  Av. 

Negro    .... 

1169-28 

1424-12 

1281-71 

45-2 

Chinese 

1081-58 

1364-48 

1228-04 

43-4 

Nubian 

1041-24 

1313-54 

1182-19 

41-7 

Moris    .     . 

1033-93 

1304-38 

1173-94 

41-4 

Papuan 

1030-42 

1299-95 

1169-96 

41-3 

Greenlander 

102?-12 

1290-74 

1161-67 

41-0 

Javanese     . 

995-06 

1254-54 

1129-91 

39-8 

In  the  following  table  the  examples  are  derived  from  Dr. 
J.  B.  Davis's  tables,  with  the  exception  of  the  Peruvians.  For 
these  I  have  availed  myself  of  Dr.  Jeffreys  Wyman's  careful 
observations  on  the  large  collection  in  the  Peabody  Museum, 
the  results  of  which  confirm  Dr.  Morton's  earlier  data.  One 
further  fact,  however,  may  be  noted  as  a  result  of  my  own 
study  of  Peruvian  crania,  amply  confirmed  by  the  published 
observations  of  others,  namely,  that  while  the  Peruvian  head  un- 
questionably ranks  among  those  of  the  microcephalous  races, 
the  range  of  variation  among  the  Peruvian  coa.' t  tribes  appears 
to  be  less  than  that  even  of  the  Australian.  Of  this  there  is 
good  evidence,  based  on  the  comparison  of  several  hundred 
crania.  But  exceptional  examples  of  unusually  large  skulls 
may  be  looked  for  in  all  races ;  and  a  few  of  such  abnormal 
Peruvian  or  other  skulls  would  modify  the  mean  capacities 
and  weights  in  the  following  table.  Nevertheless  the  average 
results,  as  a  whole,  are  probably  a  close  approximation  to  the 
truth : — 


RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIN-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE      401 


TABLE   X 


COMPARATIVE  CEREBRAL  CAPACITY  OF  RACES 


Race. 

Number. 

Capacity. 
Cubic  Inches. 

Brain-weight. 
Oz.  Av. 

European 

English 

Asiatic 

Chinese 

Hindoos     

Negroes 

Negro  Tribes  .... 
American  Indians 

Mexicans 

Peruvians 

Eskimos 

Oceanic 

Javans  

Australians      .... 

299 
21 

124 
26 
35 
16 
69 
52 
25 
56 
13 

210 
30 
24 

92-3 
93-1 
87-1 
92-1 
82-5 
86-4 
85-2 
87-5 
81-7 
75-0 
91-2 
89-4 
87-5 
81-1 

4712 

47-50 
44-44 
47-00 
42-11 
44-08 
43-47 
44-64 
41-74 
38-25 
46-56 
45-63 
44-64 
41-38 

:i) 


Looking  for  some  definite  results  from  the  various  data 
here  produced,  the  deductions  which  they  seem  to  suggest 
may  be  thus  stated.  While  Professor  Wyman  justly  remarks 
that  the  relative  capacity  of  the  skull,  and  consequently  of  the 
encephalon,  is  to  be  considered  as  an  anatomical  and  not  as  a 
physiological  characteristic,  relative  largeness  of  the  brain  is 
nevertheless  one  of  the  most  distinguishing  attributes  of  man. 
Ample  cerebral  development  is  the  general  accompaniment 
of  intellectual  capacity,  alike  in  individuals  and  races;  and 
microcephaly,  when  it  passes  below  well-defined  limits,  is  no 
longer  compatible  with  rational  intelligence ;  though  it  amply 
suffices  for  the  requirements  of  the  highest  anthropomorpha. 
Wagner  thus  definitely  refers  the  special  characteristics  which 
separate  man  from  the  irrational  creation  to  one  member  of 
the  encephalon :  "  The  relation  of  the  lobes  of  the  cerebrum 
to  intelligence  may,  perhaps,  be  expressed  thus  :  there  is  a 
certain  development  of  the  mass  of  the  cerebrum,  especially 
of  the  convolutions,  requisite  in  order  to  such  a  development 
of  intelligence  as  divides  man  from  other  animals." 

2d 


402      RELATIVE  RACIAL  BRAIW-WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

The  important  data  accumulated  by  Morton,  Meigs,  Davis, 
Tiedemann,  Pruner-Bey,  Br  oca,  and  others,  by  the  process  of 
gauging  the  skulls  of  different  races,  proceeds  on  the  assump- 
tion of  brain  of  a  uniform  density.  But  it  seems  by  no  means 
improbable  that  certain  marked  distinctions  in  races  may  be 
traceable  to  the  very  fact  of  a  prevailing  difference  in  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  brain,  or  of  certain  of  its  constituent 
portions ;  to  the  greater  or  less  complexity  of  its  convolutions ; 
and  to  the  relative  characteristics  of  the  two  hemispheres. 
Moreover,  it  may  be  that  some  of  those  sources  of  difference  in 
races  may  not  lie  wholly  out  of  our  reach,  or  even  beyond  our 
control.  The  diversity  of  food,  for  example,  of  the  Peruvians 
and  of  the  American  Indian  hunter  tribes  was  little  less  than 
that  which  distinguishes  the  Eskimo  from  the  Hindoo,  or  the 
nomad  Tartar  from  the  Chinese.  The  remarkable  cerebral 
capacity  characteristic  of  the  Oceanic  races  is  the  accompani- 
ment of  well-defined  peculiarities  in  food,  climate,  and  other 
physical  conditions ;  and  Australia  is  even  more  distinct  in  its 
physical  specialties  than  in  its  variety  of  race. 

Looking  then  to  the  unwonted  persistency  of  the  Peruvian 
cranium  within  such  narrow  limits,  so  far  at  least  as  the 
physical  characteristics  of  the  predominant  population  of  Peru 
are  illustrated  by  means  of  the  great  Coast  cemeteries ;  and  to 
the  striking  discrepancy  between  the  volume  of  brain  and  the 
intellectual  activity  of  the  race;  I  am  led  to  the  conclusion 
that,  in  the  remarkable  exceptional  characteristics  thus  estab- 
lished by  the  study  of  this  class  of  Peruvian  crania,  we  have 
as  marked  an  indication  of  a  distinctive  race-character  as  any- 
thing hitherto  noted  in  anthropology. 


INDEX 


Abbeville,  bones  of  extinct  mammalia 
at,  154 

Abbot,  Dr.  Charles  C,  Primitive  Indus- 
try of  the  Native  ytatw,  quoted,  89,  98; 
discoveries  at  Trenton,  100,  158,  160, 
162,  163,  164,  165,  167,  18C 

Abercrombie,  Dr.,  374,  376 

Adam,  M.  Lucien,  papers  l)y,  19 

Africa,  circumnavigation  of,  in  611  B.C., 
9 

African  hybrid,  the,  311 

Agassiz,  Professor,  20,  150,  216,  375, 
376,  385,  390,  396,  399 

Akkad,  language  of  the  Suraerian  class, 
27 

Alaska,  peopled  by  Eskimo,  66,  234 

Aleutian  Island,  66,  117 

Algonkins,  18,  66,  106,  173,  206,  207, 
216,  229,  234,  237,  241,  243,  244, 
248,  252,  254,  265,  268,  270,  274, 
275,  276,  280,  281,  28'?,  300,  304, 
318 

Alleghans,  106,  172,  174,  175 

Allig^wi,  103,  172,  215,  251,  253,  267, 
269,  273,  287 

Alphabet,  Indian,  237 

Alton,  find  of  flint  implements,  97 

Andaman  Islander,  348,  387 

Andastes,  253 

Audastogues,  253 

Anderdon,  Indian  reserve,  280,  284, 
295,  306 

Anne,  Queen,  gift  to  the  Mohawks,  314 

Antiquitates  Americance,  51,  57,58,  61 

Apaches,  175,  229 

Arapahoes,  235 

Arifrode's  Icelandic  Saga,  51 

Arnold,  Dr.,  137 

Arrowhead-makers,  224 

Artist,  the  Indian,  193 

Ashbrandsson,  Biorn,  37 

Assiniboins,  120,  121 

Athabaska  river,  121,  126 

Athabascan,  language  of,  18 

Atkinson,  Henry  George,  353 


Atlantis,  legend  of,  1  ;  supposed  geo- 
graphical position,  2 

Attiwendaronks,  177,  220,  254,  256, 
277,  278,  282,  294 

Aughey,  Professor,  148 

Avalldnmoii,  Skryelin-j'  chief,  69 

Aymaras,  387,  389 

Aztecs,  20,  103,  238,  268,  287,  387 

Babeens,  90,  121,  207,  312 

Ikcon,  quoted,  34 

Bancroft's  iVatire   Races  of  the  Pacific 

Slates,  quoted,  6,  70 
Barlow,  Dr.  H.  C,  369 
Basket-work,  224 
Bastian,  343 
Bateman,  83,  188 
Batoche,  334 
Bauchman's    Beach,    arrow  -  makers   of, 

128 
Bay  ofQuinte,  314 
Bearfoot,  Kev.  Isaac,  302 
Bear  Skin,  a  Haidah  chief,  and  Judge 

Pemberton,  211 
Beatty,  Mr.,  326 
Beechy,  Captain,  204 
Belgium  caves,  357 
Bell,  Dr.  Eobert,  101,  120,  125,  126 
Bentham,  Jeremy,  352 
Berkeley   landed   at    Ehode    Island    in 

1728,  79 
Bertram,    the  Cherokees  described  by, 

173 
Bible,  Indian,  translation  of,  298,  299 
Blackfeet,  120,  175,  178,  206,  226,  229, 

234,  312,  329,  333 
Blankets,  drawings  on  Haidah,  211 
Boas,  Dr.  Franz,  393 
Bone  implements,  167 
Borlase,  83 

Boucher  de  Perthes,  M.,  5,  88,  91,  112 
Boyd,  Dr.,  367,  377,  380,  381,  382 
Boyle,  Robert,  289 
Brain,  the  weight  in  proportion  to  the 

body,  341 


404                                           INDEX                                                         1 

I  rain,  the  nveragd  weight  of,  363,  300 

Cheroliakahs,  2.''3,  296 

Uraiit,  a  native  cliief,  321 

Cherokees,  103,  172,  173,  174,  253,274, 

braHHcur  do  UotirbourK,  AbW,  5 

287,  298 

ilra/il,  liiHcovery  of,  13,  38  ;  caves,  148, 

Chesapeaku  Bay,  239 

149 

C'heyennes,  175,  229 

Brewster,  Sir  Duvld,  182 

Cliielienit/.a  sculptured  tablets,  34 

Brinton,  Dr.,  14,  20,  28,  241,  243 

ChickosaWH,  103,  286 

]kitiHh  AsHociatioii  at  Montreal,  61,  69 

Chinipseyuns,  121,  138,  207,  208 

Britinli  ('olunibia,  tribes  of,  115,  324 

China,  money  of,  22 

Brown,  George,  376 

Cliincha,  Indians  of,  391 

J.  Allan,  88 

Chinooks,  130,  134,  227,  234,  312 

Brownell's  Indian  Races,  251 

Chipi)ewayH,    121,   124,  134,   225,  312, 

Broca,    Professor,  354,   357,  C58,   373, 

318,  329,  351 

376,  377,  381,  402 

Choctawn,  103,  173,  286,  287 

Bronze,  sword,  leaf-shaped,  85  ;  workers 

Cliuakouet,  grape  vine  at,  in  1606,  63 

in,  95 

CisneroH,  Dr.,  362 

Bruce,  King  Robert  tlie,  354,  369,  374 

Cissbury,  ilint  i)its  at,  92 

Bucl<lnnd's,  Dean,  JidiquicE  DUuviance, 

Clalnm  Indians,  121,  138,  312 

145 

Clarke,     Hyde,     Examination     of    (he 

Buffalo,  178,  325 

Lejjend,  quoted,  2  ;  Khita  and  Khilu- 

Buffalo  ro))e,  pictured,  35,  89 

Peruvian  Kjiuch,  quoted,  4,  26 

Buhner,  J.  Y.,  56 

Clarke,  Lockhart,  340 

Biinger,  Professor,  372,  374 

Clatsops,  130,  226,  234 

Burns's  head,  369,  374,  379 

Ciaussen,  M.,  148 

Busk,  Professor,  390 

Cliff  dwellings,  135 

Buslyde,  Hieronie,  76 

Cloyne,  Bishop  of,  77 

Byron,  355,  375,  376 

Colbert,   shipment  of  emigrants  under 

direction  of,  316 

OA.BRAL,  Pedro  Alvares  de,  12,  45 

Coles,  the,  348 

Cai'bau,  references  to,  74,  84,  247 

Columbus,  1,  7,  11,  13,  37,  40,  72,  73, 

Calor;,  Professor  C.  L.,  342 

74,  77,  131,  325 

Campbell,  Lord  Chancellor,  376,  385 

Columns,  ornamental,  209 

Canarsesof  Long  Island,  2i '• 

Comanches,  175 

Caniengas,  or  Flint  People,  264,  285,  294 

Combe,  George,  369 

Cape  Breton  Island,  53,  54,  69 

Comparative  cerebral  capacity  of  races, 

Cape  Cod,  62 

400,  401 

Carantouans,  253 

Compass,  the,  of  the  Norso  rovers,  12 

Caribbees,  shell-workers  of  the,  94 

Conestoga.",  253 

Caribs,  190 

Cook,  Captain,  14 

Carpenter,  Dr.,  336 

Copan,  statue  at,  34,  35 

Carr,  Lucien,  393 

Copenhagen,  rune-stones  at,  42,  56 

Cartier,  Jacques,  53,  176,  253,  262,  268, 

Copper  of  Lake  Superior,  36,  115,  170, 

274,  275,  277,  280,  281,  282,  295 

179,  262,  313;  of  Mexico,  179,  181   ; 

Carved  '     ge-poles,  210,  212 

implements,   106,    116,   179,   182, 

Cassiteri  es,  181 

212,  262 

Catawbas,  103,  173,  274 

ornaments,  116,  212 

Catlin,  Mr.,  artist,  123 

smelting,  180 

Caughnawaga,  306 

Coral  islands  of  the  Pacific,  21 

Cave-men,  152,  153,  166,  195,  196 

Correa,  Pedro,  74 

Cayugas,  263,  278,  289,  294,  297,  305, 

Corvo,  coins  found  at,  9,  86 

318 

Cowlitz,  130,  226,  227,  312 

Centennial   Exposition  of  Philadelphia 

Crania  of  Pacific  coast  tribes,  394 

in  1876,  166 

Creeks,  103,  274 

Chalmers,  Dr.,  376,  378,  386 

Crees,   176,   178,   206,  227,  229,  312 

Champlain,   262,  268,    274,   275,   276, 

329,  333 

277,  281 

Cresson,  H.  T.,  99,  100,  162 

Charlevoix,  Fere,  117,  277 

Cristineaux,  143,  323 

Charles  River,  49 

Cromagnon  cavern,  85,  357,  358,  361 

Charlton,  B,  E.,  220 

Cross-ness,  61 

Chattahoochee  River,  97 

Cumshewa,  116 

Chatta-Muskogees,  103,  173 

Cunningham's  Island,  177,  278 

INDEX 


405 


C'urtius,  Professor,  10 
CuHhing,  Mr,,  244,  300 
CuNick,  Davlil,  252,  277 
Cuvier,  373,  374,  376,  376,  377 
Cuoij,  M.,  297 
•  Cuzco,  389 

Dakota,  229,  256 

Dakotaii,  lunguago  of,  18,  290 

Dall,  W.  H.,  117,  152,  205,  323 

D'AUyoi ,  Father,  177 

Dalton,  Dr.,  352 

Dante,  368,  369,  374 

Darwin,  339,  372 

Davis,  Dr.  J.  liarnnnl,   117,  342,  344, 

345,   347,  348,  341),   3,''>5,  362,  365, 

866,   370,  373,  383,  390,  391,  397, 

398,  400,  402 

Straits,  65 

Dawkins,  Professor  Boyd,  150,  151,  152, 

165,  358,  359 
Dawson,  Dr.  O.  M.,  114,  120,  125 

S.  J.,  330 

Dawson's,  Sir  W.,  Fossil  Men,  219 
Delaware  gravel  beds,  98,  158 
Delawares,  103,  175,  251,  269 
De  Leon,  Pedro  de  Cieza,  391 
Denhani,  Admiral  H.  M.,  347 
Designs   on  pottery,  Indian,   121,   189, 

190,  195,  220  ;  by  cave-men,  196 
De    Quatrefages,    Professor,    206,    215, 

':i6 
De  Quincey,  378 

Descriplio  insiilarum  aquilonis,  52 
De  Soto,  173 

Dighton  Kock,  46,  47,  54,  61,  79.  206 
Dirichlet,  the  mathematician,  376 
Dobson,  G.  E.,  348,  349 
Donnelly's  Atlantis,  6 
Dooyeutate,  Peter,  252,  274,  276,  295 
D'Orbigny,  143,  398 
Dordogne  cave,  239  ;  valley,  64 
Dorion,  L.  A.,  296 
Dowler,  Dr.,  149,  150,  154 
Drawings  of  Animals,  Indian,  217 
Dupuytren,  Surgeon,  376,  386 
Dyes  employed  by  Indians,  240-243 

Ealfno,  paljBolithic  workshop  at,  88 

Earthworks,  105,  117 

Edda,  iled  Indian,  178 

Egilsson,  Sveinbiorn,  51 

Eider  ducks,  59 

Eliot,  Indian  Bible  of,  298 

El  Moro  rock,  231 

Emigrants  to  New  York,  32;  to  Canada, 

316 
Engis  cave,  359 
Eric  Saga,  165 

Eric  the  Red,  41,  44,  52,  59,  62 
Eries,  172,  177,  254,  277,  278,  294 


Eriksson,  I^if,  44,  49,  61,  63,  69,  69,  62, 
71 

Eriksson,  Thorwald,  49,  64,  66 

KrlendsKon  Ilauk,  71 

Eskimo:  u  typical  Mongol,  17,  18;  In 
Greenland,  43,  64  ;  migrations  of, 
65  ;  in  Alaska,  66  ;  implements  of, 
84;  pedigree,  133;  half-breed  in 
Labrador,  144,  151  ;  implements  of, 
152,  153,  159,  165,  204  ;  and  cave- 
men, 203  ;  designs  by,  213,  234,  240  ; 
247,  248,  267,  272 ;  cranium  of,  274 ; 
powers  of  endurance,  323 

Evans,  Sir  John,  81,  155 

Ewaipanoma,  247 

Kyibyggja  Saga,  70 

Faiiish,  Dr.  J.  G.,  64,  55 

Farms,  allocation  of,  328 

Fijians,  192 

Figuier,  M.,  193 

Five  Nations,  the,  260,  275,  286,  289 

Flat-head  Indians,  130,  312 

Flint  as  a  fire-producer,  81 

Flint  Uidge,  101,  102,  111 

Flint  Uiver,  126 

Flint-workers,  92 

Flores,  island,  74 

Flower,  Professor,  17,  18 

Forbes,  Edward,  216 

Fort  M'Leod,  Alberta,  115 

Foscolo,  ligo,  370,  374 

Foster,  Dr.  J.  VV.,  119,  179,  180 

Fox,  Colonel  A.  Lane,  92 

Franklin,  379 

Fredericksburg,  118 

French  half-breeds,  330 

Frere  Jolin,  87,  88 

Freydisa,  62,  68 

Fuchs,  patliologist,  376 

Fuegians  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  84 

Furdustrandir,  59,  63 

Gallatin,    173,   253,    256,    286,   296, 

296,  298 
Gania,  Vasco  da,  voyage  of,  9,  12 
Gamlison  Thorhnll,  58 
Ganton,  flint  flakes  at,  95 
Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  391 
Garnett,  Rev.  Richard,  28 
Garonne,  valleys  of,  150,  151 
Garrison,  W.  Lloyd,  225 
Gauss,  the  mathematician,  370,  376 
Geikie,  Professor,  154 
Gellisson  Thorkell,  51 
Gesture-language,  229,  233,  235 
Gibbs,  General  Alfred,  221 
Gibbs,  George,  227 
Gilbert,  Sir  Humphrey,  50 
Giles,  Peter,  76 
Gilmour,  Rev.  J.,  330 


4o6 


INDEX 


Gold,  first  metal  wrought,  86 

Goheeu,  Dr.,  362 

Gold  ornaments,  181,  212,  223,  388 

Goniara,  74 

Goodsir,  Professor,  343,  375,  398 

Gosse,  Dr.  L.  A.,  188 

Graenlendingathattr,  62 

Grand  river  reserves,  306,  314,  316 

Grapes,  wild,  of  Norch  America,  48,  53, 

60,  62 
Grave  Creek  Stone,  214 
Grave  mounds,  116 
Grave-posts,  pictured,  35 
Graves,  flint  implements  in,  95,  96 
Greenland,  41,  43,  53,  60,  6..,  65 
Greeuwell,  Rev.  Canon,  83,  93,  95,  96 
Orenlands  Ilistoriske  Mindesmwrker,  40 
Grimolfson  Bjarne,  58 
Grinnel  Leads,  97 
Grote,  376,  386 
Grupsou,  Erik,  49 
Gudleif,  a  Norse  leader,  38 
Gudrida,  Karlsefne's  wife,  67 
Guysborough,  53 
Gwyneth,  Owen,  38 

Haidahs,  of  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  90, 
115,  116,  121,  130,  134,  138,  204, 
207,  208,  209,  211,  393 

Hake,  the  Scot,  58,  59,  60,  61 

Haki,  a  Scot,  59,  60 

Hakluyt,  50 

Hale,  Horatio,  on  currency  in  China,  22  ; 
grammar  of  the  Hi.irons,  103  ;  Indian 
Migrations,  140,  172,  235  ;  Iroquois 
tUtes,  237,  252,  253,  256,  263,  264, 
268,  280,  287,  293,  296,  303 

Half-breeds,  143,  144  ;  powers  of  en- 
durance^ 323 

Halliburton,  R.  G.,  69 

Hamilton,  Sir.  W.,  380 

Hamlet,  quoted,  96 

L^anno,  voyage  of,  9 

Harkussen,  68,  60,  61 

Harriot,  74 

Harrison,  Chief-Justice,  376 

Hauks  V6k,  71 

Hausmann,  376 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  50 

Heinse,  J.  J.  W.,  371,  374 

Helluland,  45,  52,  59,  62,  70 

Henry  the  Navigator,  11 

a  traveller  of  last  century,  143,  323 

Herjulfson,  Bjarni,  44,  60,  71 

Hermaiiii,  376,  386 

Hiawatha,  quoted.  265,  268 

Hieroglyphics,  Indian,  230,  231 

Hind,  Professor,  330 

Hindoos,  397 

Hittite  capital,  Ketesh,  30 

Hoare,  Sir  R.  C,  82,  83 


Hochelaga,  221,  270,  272,  274,  276,  276, 
278,  280,  281,  282,  283,  284,  293, 
295 

Hodges,  Robert,  84 

Hoffman,  Dr.  J.  W.,  195,  205,  210,  233 

Holland,  Sir  Henry.  371 

Holy  Island,  42 

H6p,  Mount  Hope  Bay,  60,  61,  63 

Horetskey,  Charles,  323 

Horn,  engraving  on,  94,  197 

Horsford,  Professor  E.  N.,  49 

Hoxme,  flint  implements  found  at,  89 

Huidoerk  inscription,  57 

Humboldt,  35,  169,  248,  260, 

Piunter,  Archdeacon,  330,  331 

Hurons,  65,  101,  176,  177,  224,  280, 
318,  319 

Huron  -  Iroquois,   language   of,   18,  64, 

65,  66,  139,  172,  246  et  seq. 
Huschke,  341,  364 
Hutchinson,  T.  J.,  390 

Huxley,  Professor,  quoted,  248,  308, 
340,  351,  352,  359,  374 

Iceland,  41,  43,  44 

Icelandic  Sagas,  51,  70 

Idols  of  the  Haidah,  209 

Igalikko  runic  monuments,  36 

Ilium,  168 

Illinois,  176 

Xncas,  389 

Indians  of  California,  money  of,  23 

Indian  lodge,  211 

Innuit  designs,  213 

Iroquois,  103,  106,  107,  172,  173,  175, 

176,  177,  229,  234,  237,  214,  245, 

316,  318 
Isle  de  Bacchus,  53 

of  Orleans,  53 

Roy  ale,  116 

Ivory,  94,  138,  161,  153,  19",  217 

Jeffrey,  Lord,  378 

Jemez  Indians,  232 

Jones,  Colonel  C.  C,  148, 180 

Jossakeeds,  224 

Jowett's,  Professor,  Dialogues  of  Plato, 

quoted,  1 
Jugs,  double-necked,  223 
Julian  calendar,  34 

Kablunet,  65 
Kalapurgas,  227 

Kane,  Paul,  121,  130,  227,  228.  312, 
324 

Dr.,  144,  323 

Kanienga,  174 

Karlsefue,  Tliorfinn,  41,  49,  58,  62,  63, 

66,  67,  68,  71 
Karlsevun,  54 
Keel-nesB,  61 


INDEX 


407 


Keenan,  Mr.,  119 

Kent's  Hole,  84 

Kentucky  skitlls,  389 

Kettle,  stone,  84 

Kewenaw  peninsula,  106,  116 

Khita  or  Hittites,  10 

Kialarnes,  68 

Kiategainut  Indians,  205 

Kiawakaskaia,  226 

Kingil:torsoak    runic    monuments,    36, 

57 
Kingsborough,  Lord,  239 
Kioosta  vilhige  on  Graham  Island,  212 
Kjalanes,  63 
Klaskane  Indians,  130 
Klikatat,  227 
Kona,  65 
Konegan,  66 
Krossanes,  63 


Labrador  (Helluland),  62 
La-crosse  clubs,  224 
Laennec,  Dr.,  347 
La  Jeune  Lorette,  276 
Lake-dwellings  of  Switzerland,  90 
Lake  Simcoe,  283 
La  Madeleine  cave,  213 
Lamb,  Charles,  quoted,  :i35 
Lane,  74 

Languages — Huron-Iroquois,  257, 
Indian,  66,  255  ;  Mohawk,  291 


281; 
.       ,         .  ,      -  ;  sig- 

nificance of,  15  ;  of  uncivilised  races, 
17 

La  Salle,  110,  269 

Latham,  Dr.,  182,  248,  260,  263 

Laugerie  Basse,  cave  at,  206,  359 

League  of  the  Hodenosauneega,  174 

Leavei'vorth,  111 

Left-hand  drawings,  197 

Leidy,  Professor  Joseph,  89,  156 

Le  Moyne,  Father,  278 

Lenape,  172,  214,  229,  241,  269 

Lenni-Leuape,  251 

Les  Eysies,  cave  of,  216 

Lewis,  Professor  H.  C,  9D,  163 

Lewis,  Edmonia,  225 

Lindsay,  Sir  David,  76 

Lion  from  Marash,  30 

Lion  of  Pireeus,  30 

Liston,  Robert,  369 

Little  Falls,  Minnesota,  143 

Locke's  Journal,  176 

Lombrive  cave,  359 

Longfellow,  quoted,  178 

Long,  Major  J.  H.,  123 

Lorette,  275,  283,  295,  319 

Los  Ojos  Calieutes,  232 

Lucae,  Dr.  J.  C.  Gustav,  371,  399 

Lukins,  Mr.,  123 

Lund,  Dr.,  148,  14».' 

Luschan,  Dr.  F.  .on,  309 


Lyell's,  Sir  Charles,  Principles  of  Geology, 

quoted,  6,  145,  154 
Lynx  or  wild  cat,  177 

Macaulay,  Lord,  378 

M'Dowell,  Dr.,  362 

MacEnery,  J.,  147 

Mackenzie,  Major  Colin,  83 

Macrocephali,  363 

Madoc,  a  Welsh  imnce,  38 

Maeshowe,  Orkney,  30,  42 

MagDusen,  Finn,  51 

Malay  race,  192 

Malformation,  artificial,  24 

Mammoth,   bones  of,  88  ;   carvings  of, 

213,  217 
Mandans,  175 
Mangue  language,  28 
Manhattans,  269 
Manitoba,  IS-i 
Maps,  earliest,  53 

by  Rafn,  62 

of  Vinhmd,  49 

Marchand's  voyage,  208 

Markham,  Mr.,  391 

Markland,  57,  59,  69 

Martin,  Hugh,  240 

Martineau,  Harriet,  352 

Mascagni,  362,  385 

Massat,  cave  of,  216 

Massenat,  M.,  215 

Maya.s,  13,  25,  31,  387 

Meigs,  Dr.   J.   Aitken,    247,  395,  396, 

402 
Melanochroi  or  dark  whites,  308 
Afimoires  de  la  SociitS  Roy  ale  des  Anti- 

quaires  du  Nord,  51 
Mentone,  skeleton  found  at,  359 
Mercer,  H.  C,  214 
Metallurgy,  American,  35 
Metis,  the,  311 
Mexican  calendar,  33,  169 

sculptured  monuments,  39 

terra-cotta  human  masks,  215 

Mexicans,  190 

Mexico,  ruius  of,  137 

Micinacs,    65,    64,  65,    125,    242,  318, 

319 
Middleton,  General,  334 
Miller,  Joaquin,  325 
Millicet  Indians,  55,  65 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  50 
Minsi,  175 
Mississagas,  318 
Missouries,  274 
Moccasins,  224 
Mohawks,    174,    253,    264,    289,    290, 

294,  297,  299,  302,  305,  314,  318 
Money,  Origin  of  Primitive,  22 
Montgomery's  Greenland  epic,  48 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  75,  76,  77 


4o8 


INDEX 


Morgan,  Hon.  L.  H.,  174,  265,  285 

Moro  rock,  230 

Morris,  Hon.  Alexander,  326,  327 

William,  quoted,  37,  71 

Morton,  Dr.,  247,   261,  337,   344,  345, 

348,  362,  365,  366,  371,  387,  392, 

395,  396,  397,  400,  402 
Mound   buildei-s,    102,    103,   104,    108, 

167,  214,  215,  267,  270,  273 
Mount  Hope  Bay,  46 
Miiller,    Professor   Max,    19,  266,  290, 

291 
Munch,  Professor,  51 
Musical    instruments    in    the    form    of 

animals,  222 
Muskogees,  106,  173,  286 

Naaman's  Creek,  rock  shelter,  99 

Nanticokes,  254,  269 

Nantucket,  45 

Napoleon,  376,  377 

Narraganset  Bible,  28 

Nasquallie,  312 

Natchez,  103,  106,  173 

Naticokes,  l75 

Navajo  Expedition,  230,  231 

Neanderthal  skull,  354,  359,  373 

Neepigon  River,  119,  121,  236,  351 

Negroes,  brain-weights  of,  362,  363,  385, 

395 
Neolithians,  309 
Newark  earthworks,  102 
Newatees,  130,  312 
New  England,  64 
Newfoundland,  53 
New   Jersey,  old  implement-maker  at, 

90,  98 
New  Orleans,  skeleton  of,  161 
Newport  in  Narragansett  Bay,  79 
"Nina,"  the,  75 
Nipissing,  Lake,  125 
Nisqually,  227 
Nootkaa,  134,  227 
North  Fork,  117 
Norumbega,  ancient  city  of,  50 
Nott,  Dr.  J.  C,  247,  375 
Nottawa  saga,  304 
Nottoways,  253,  296,  305 
Nova  Scotia,    45,    47,  53,  54,  59,  61, 

64 

Oar,  with  runic  inscription,  43 

Ohio  Holy  Stone,  214 

Ohio  Valley,  earthworks  of,  38,  101 

Ojibways,  206,  242,  243,  245,  252,  257, 

268 
Oka,  306 

Olaf,  the  Saint,  37 
O'Meara,  Rev.  Dr.,  236 
Oneidas,  174,  253,  264,  285,  286,  289 

294,  297,  305,  318 


Onondagas,'  chief,  178,  237,  253,  260 

264,  278,  286,  289,  294,  305,  318 
Ontonagon,  116 
Orang,  brain  of,  340 
Orinoco  River,  72 
Oronhyatekha,  Dr.,  296,  298,  302 
Osages,  274 
Otouacha,  275 
Ottawas,  318 
Ottoes,  274 
Owen,  Professor,  339,  346,  348 

Pabahmesad,  the  old  Chippewa,  224 

Pacasset  River,  46,  62 

Paisley  Block,  101 

Palenque,  sculptured  tablets,  34,  35 

Parker,  Rev.  Samuel,  227 

Parkman,  Francis,  248,  262,  275,  278 

Patagonians  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  84 

Paton,  Sir  Noel,  197 

Patterson,  George,  126 

Pattison,  Rev.  Mark,  note  228 

Pavlofi",  Ivav    ??A 

Peacoci  ,  ^1     ''     ,  362,  367,  377,  381 

Peat  mosses  of  Denmark  and  Ireland, 
90 

Pequot,  320 

Perkins,  Mr.,  179,  180 

Peruvian,  natives,  190  ;  pottery,  215  ; 
skulls,  387,  388  ;  crania,  395 

Petun  Indians,  101 

Philadelphia  gravel  beds,  99 

riiillips,  H.,  jun.,  57,  59,  60 

Phoenician,  Cadmus,  35 

Picard,  Paul,  295,  296 

Pickering,  Dr.  Charles,  24,  227,  260 

Pictou  harbour,  54 

Picture-writing,  33,  40,  233,  238,  239, 
244 

Pierce,  William,  320 

"  Pinta,"  the,  75 

Piroens,  lion  of,  42 

Plato's  Critias,  quoted,   .    ''    "' 

Point  Oken,  122 

Population,  an<l  nuinb  -  .  llages, 
275  ;  coloured,  311,  318,     '    .  329 

Porpoise,  brain  of,  341 

Port  Dover,  implements  at,  101 

Potomac,  rock  at  the,  57 

Pottawattomies,  318 

Pottery,  153,  167,  168,  171,  189; 
192,  194,  218,  219,  220,  240,  262, 
267,  271,  273,  282,  388 

Powell,  York,  62 

Powhattan,  269 

Pre-Aryan  Man,  130  et  seq. 

Pre  -  Columbian  America,  Copenhagen 
volume  on,  43,  131  ;  intercourse  be- 
tween Europe  and  America,  7 

Prescott,  285 

Prestwich,  Professor,  162 


INDEX 


Pritchard,  Dr.,  16 

Proceedings  of  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  57 

Pniner-Bey,  Dr.,  356,  402 

Pueblo  Indians,  190,  231,  236,  240. 
244,  299  '         .         . 

Quebec  and  the  Huron  Indians,  251 
Quichuas,  387,  389 ;  skulls,  398 
Quiriqua  sculptured  tablets,  34 

Race-typks,  18 

Rae,  Dr.,  144 

Eafn,   Professor   Christian,   40,   46,   47. 

51,52,61,78 
Ragnvald,  Earl,  42 
Rainy  River,  126 
Raleigh,  74,  77 
Rand,  Rev.  Silas  T.,  242,  319 
Rau,  Charles,  118,  119,  180 
Red  Lake  Indians,  327 
Red  River,  328,  330,  334 
Reeve  of  Anderdon,  321 
Reeves'  The  Finding  of  Wineland  the 

Good,  49,  51 ;  62,  71 
Reid,  Dr.,  385 

Reindeer's  horn,  engraving  on,  215 
Rhode  Island,  52,  54,  60,  61,  62,  78 
Riel,  Louis,  334 
Rink,  Dr.  Henry,  18,  66,  144 
Rites,  revolting,  282 
Riverview  Cemetery,  118 
Rocky  Dell  Creek,  231 
Rolleston,  Dr.,  353,  361 
Rosehill,  Lord,  82 
Ro'  al  Society  of  Canada,  60 
Rune-stones,  42 
Runic  inscriptions,  42,  131 
Rusnians  in  Alaska,  323 

Sa8atannen,  Rev.  P.  W.,  275 

Sachem,  chief,  177 

Saco,  53 

Saga  of  Barthar  Snsefellsass,  70 

Saga  of  Eric  the  Red,  71 

Saga  of  Halfdan  Eysteinsson,  70 

Sagard,  296 

St.  Brandon,  Island  of,  37 

St.    Charles   river    reserves,   306,   316. 

318 
St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  53 
St.  Mansuy,  354 

St,  Molio's  Cave  on  the  Clyde,  30 
St.  Olaf,  44 
St.  Peter  Indians,  328 
St.  Regis,  306 
Saline  River,  108 
Salmon  River,  54,  115 
San  Estebdn,  convent  of,  73 
Sankey,  Dr.,  343 
Saulteux,  328 


409 


Savannahs,  274 
Schaaffhausen,  Professor,  354 
Schiller,  375,  376 
Schliemann,  Dr.,  136 
Schmerling,  Dr.,  359 
Schumacher,  Paul,  112 
Scioto-mound  skull,  273 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  brain  of,  3r,6, 368,  374 
Sculptured  figures,  23 ;    monuments  of 
Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru, 

Seal  hunting,  65 

Sea-rovers,  literary  memorials  of,  11 

Selkirk,  Lord,  328 

Sellers,  G.  E.,  106,  107,  109,  122,  123 

Seminoles,  274 

Senecas,  253,  264,  276,  277,  278,  280 
281,  289,  294,  295,  305,  318 

Seven  Islands,  the,  37 

Shakespeare,  brain  of,  355 

Shaler,  Professor,  98,  99 

Shawnees,  101,  175,  240,  241,  269,  274 

Sheep,  mountain,  115 

Shell,  mounds,  British  and  Danish,  90; 
workers  of  the  Caribbees,  94  ;  orna- 
ments on,  195 

Ships  of  the  Norse  rovers,  12 

Short,  J.  T.,  180 

Shoshones,  89,  97,  156 

Sigurd,  King  of  Norway,  42 

Simpson,   Lieut.   James   K.,    230,   231, 

Simpson,  Sir  James  Y.,  375,  376,  378, 

385 
Sioux,   120,  '175,   178,  312,  325,  326, 
327,  329,  333  ' 

Six  Nation  Indians,  143,  174,  176,  254. 
256,   263,   264,  283,  289,  290,  301 
305,  314,  316,  318  '         >         . 

Skrrolings,  63,  6:1,  65,  66,  67,  69,  157, 
165 

Skulls,  Mound-Builders,  105  ;  cave-men, 
153  ;  Red  iudian,  161 ;  comparison 
of,  187 ;  capacity,  261  ;  Canadian, 
274  ;  Huron,  279  ;  table  of  cubical 
capacity,  366 

Smith,  Captain  John,  269 

Smith,  Dr.  Southwood,  352 

Snorrason,  Thorbrand,  68 

Snorre,  67 

Snovri,  41 

Snow  Bird,  243 

Snow-shoes,  224 

Soemmering,  Professor,  380 

Solon,  3,  75,  361 

Soto,  Dr.,  103,  104 

Southey,  quoted,  38 

Spenser,  Edmund,  quoted,  77 

Spider  Islands  in  Lake  Winnipeg   101 

Spurzheim,  Dr.,  376 

Squier,  E.  G.,  118,  243,  388,  390,  396 


( 


4IO 


INDEX 


Squier  and  Davis'  Ancient  Monuments, 
117,  180 

Stadacone,  274,  275,  280,  283 

Ste-nali,  capture  of,  315 

Stephens'  Old  Nortliern  Runic  Monu- 
ments, 42,  56 

SUrling,  whale  at,  199 

Stone  implements,  82,  86,  87,  88,  89, 
90,  95,  97,  110,  111,  112,  116,  118, 
122,  126,  147,  152,  153,  157,  167, 
224,  262,  271  ;  manufacture  of,  88-92, 
122,  124 

Stone  ornaments,  125,  214 

Storm,  Professor  Gustav,  45,  46,  51,  52, 
53 

Straumey  (Stream  Isle),  59 

Straumfiordr  (Stream  Firth),  59,  63,  68 

Stuart,  Rev.  Dr.,  290 

Sturlusou,  Snorro,  78 

Sun-worshippers,  103 

Survey,  Government,  326,  327 

Susquehannocks,  175,  269 

Swampies,  328,  329 

Swan,  James  G.,  211,  212 

Symbols  of  the  clans,  210 

Tadmor,  168 

Tahiti,  traditions  of,  14 

Talavera,  Prior  Fernando  de,  73 

Talligew,  or  Tallegewi,  103,  106,  107, 

172 
Taunton  River,  61 
Tawatins,  138,  204,  207,  208 
Taylor,  Dr.  Isaac,  30,  358 
Tchudi,  Von,  391 
Thelariolin  Zacharee,  224 
Temagamic,  Lake,  125 
Temissaming,  Lake,  126 
Texas  reserve,  296 
Thales,  a  Greek  astronomer,  33 
The  Snake  Land,  243 
Thlinkets,  204,  207,  210 
Thomseu  of  Copenhagen,  81 
Thomson's,  Professor  Wyville.  Depths  of 

the  Sea,  quoted,  5 
Thorbrandson,  Suorre,  58 
Thorflnn,  58,  61 

Thorgilsson's  Iselandinga  V6k,  71 
Thorhall,  59,  60 
Thorvald,  58,  61,  62,  63 
Thurnam,  Dr.,  343,  353,  360,  365,  366, 

367,  373,  375,  376,  378,  384,  385 
Tiedemaun,   362,  375,   376,  380,   386, 

402 
Timceua  of  Plato,  1,  15,  75 
Timucuas,  173 
Tin-mines  of  Spain  and  Cornwall,  9 ; 

95 
Tinn6  Indians,  18,  115,  312 
Tiontates,  254 
Tiontonones,  177 


T'kul,  the  wind  spirit,  212 
Tlascalans,  103 

Toad,  emblematic  of  an  pvil  spirit,  213 
Tobacco  in  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  115 
Tobacco-pi  oes,  120,  167,  168,  178,  190, 

195,  207,  219,  271,  272,  273 
Toivats  and  the  "King  of  the  Bears," 

210 
Topinard,  Dr.  Paul,  261 
Toscanelli,  Paolo,  72 
Toys,  ingenious,  223 
Traffic,  ancient  routes  of,  113 
Trenton,  gravel  beds,  99,  158,  161 
Tryggvaaon,  King  Olaf,  59 
Tshugazzi,  66 
Tshimsians,  115 
Tshuma  Indians,  195 
Tubal-cain,  art  of,  17,  168 
Tulare  River,  rock  at,  233 
Tuscaroras,    253,    254,    289,   296,   297, 

30'.,  314,  318 
Tuteloes,  28,  130,  254,  256,  296 
Tylor,  Dr.  E.  B.,  61 

UcHKES,  173,  274 

Unamis,  175,  269 

Unitah  Mountains,  156 

Usher,  Dr.,  161 

Uvaege,  69 

Uxmal  sculptured  tablets,  34 

Valdidida,  69 

Vancouver  Island,  Indians  of,  324 

Vases,  native  art,  221 

Vespucci,  Amerigo,  13,  74 

Vespuce,  Amerike,  75 

Vethilldi,  69 

V^zere,  valley  of,  357,  358 

Vigfusson,  Gudbrand,  62 

Vincent,  Rev.  J.  G.,  296 

Vinland,   or  Vineland,    41  ;    origin    ot 

name,  46  ;  booths  in,   49  ;  coast  of, 

54  ;  57,  60,  69 
Virchow,  Professor,  373 
Virginia,  74 
Vogt,  Dr.  Carl,  341,  375.  383 

Wabenos,  224 

Wagner,  Professor,  343,  364,  373,  375 

Wallace,  A.  R.,  192,  349,  350,  351,  398 

Walla-walla,  227 

War-sling  of  the  SkrsBlings,  67 

Webster,  Daniel,  375,  376,  385 

Welcker,  Professor,  365,  360,  364,  870, 

373,  381 
Welsh  Indians,  38 
Weston,  T.  C,  115 
Whale  at  San  Diego,  127 
Whewell,  376,  385,  386 
Whipple,  Lieutenant,  231,  236 
White  Man's  Land,  38 


INDEX 


White  Owl,  243 

Whitney,  Professor,  16,  149,  255,  257 
288,  289,  298  ' 

Wilde,  Sir  William,  183 
Wild  goat,  carvings  of,  217 
Wilson,  Thomis,  156,  165 
Wilts  County  Asjlum,  367 
Winslow.  Dr.  0.  F.,  149 
V/iiiturop,  Mr.,  320 
Wolseley,  Sir  Garnet,  334 
Wright,  Professor  G.  F.,  99 
Wyandots,  103, 172,  176,  249,  276,  277, 


411 


278,  280,  283,  286,  293,  295,  305, 
318,  321  ' 

Wyman,  Professor  Jeffreys,  149,  344 
362,  375,  389,  390,  396,  399,  400, 
401 

Yamaskes,  274 

Yarmouth,   inscribed  rock  at,  54,  59, 

Yellowstone  Park,  115 

ZuSi  Indians,  190,  244,  299,  300 


THE  END 


Printed  by  R.  &  R.  Clark,  Edinhurgh 


